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A 


MEMOIR 

OP 

MAJOR-GENERAL 

SIR R. R. GILLESPIE, 

» 

KNIGHT COMMANDER 


OF the most honorable order of the bath, &c. 



T. — 


wn. ! 


FELIX, QUI TASTA LUC EM 


MERCEDE RELINQUIT. 

Statius . 


AS IIE HAD A FULL APPETITE OF FAME BY JUST AND GENEROUS 
ACTIONS, SO IIE HAD AN EQUAL CONTEMPT OF IT BY ANY 
SERVILE EXPEDIENTS. 

Character of Viscount Falkland by Lord Clarendon. 



PRINTED FOR T. EGERTON, 

AT THE MILITARY LIBRARY, WHITEHALL. 


1816 





















✓ 




















B, Clarke, Printer, Well-Street, Cripplegate 





TO HIS ROYAL HIGHNESS 


THE 


PRINCE REGENT. 


Sir, 

The subject of this Memoir must 
be the apology for the liberty thus taken 
of inscribing it to your Royal Highness; 
but it is one that cannot fail to meet with 
indulgence where merit has ever found a 
friend, and heroism an admirer. 

To a Prince whose government has 
gained unusual splendour from the magni¬ 
tude of his exertions, and the success of his 
arms, this relation of services, which, by 
extending the British power, have given 
security to its commerce, may be addressed 
with the confidence of obtaining an atten¬ 
tive consideration and a favorable accept¬ 
ance. But the history of a soldier, whose 


DEDICATION. 


valour could only be surpassed by his 
loyalty, and who closed his career of 
labour and glory by devoting himself at 
the moment of perilous extremity, as an 
example to inspirit his troops, may be said 
to have peculiar claims to the notice of a 
sovereign who has manifested on all occa- 
sions sympathy for the sufferings of the 
brave, sorrow for their loss, and an anxious 
concern to do honor to their memories. 

That your Royal Highness may long 
continue to enjoy the satisfaction of wit¬ 
nessing the happy fruits of the peace, which, 
by the firmness of your counsels, and the 
intrepidity of your warriors, has been 
restored to the bleeding world, is the 
prayer of 

Your Royal Highness’s 
Most dutiful, 

And obedient subject, 

THE AUTHOR. 




ERRATA. 

Page 3, line 20, for Innisharie read Inneshargie. 

18, line 16, for Maraghmore read Maryborough. 
66, line 18, for Stock read Hock. 

91, line 5, for u to India” read “ to the East.” 
170, line 14, for Minto read Mintow. 

175, line the last, for Royal read Bengal. 


The Binder is requested to place the Plan at the end of the 

Volume . 


Just published by T. Egerton, Whitehall* 

In One Volume Royal Quarto, 

ILLUSTRATED WITH NUMEROUS PLANS AND VIEWS, 
Price Three Guineas; 

A MEMOIR 

OF THE 

CONQUEST OF JAVA, 

WITH THE SUBSEQUENT OPERATIONS OF THE BRITISH 
FORCES IN THE ORIENTAL ARCHIPELAGO. 

To which is subjoined 

A STATISTICAL AND HISTORICAL SCETCH OF JAVA, 

BEING THE RESULT OF OBSERVATIONS MADE JN A TOUR 
THROUGH THE COUNTRY: 

WITH AN ACCOUNT OF ITS DEPENDENCIES. 

By MAJOR WILLIAM THORN, 

Late Deputy Quarter-Master-General to the Forces serving iu Java* 


MEMOIRS 


OF 


MAJOR-GENERAL 

SIR R. R. GILLESPIE, 

K. C. B. 


o F all the monuments that can be erected 
to commemorate the public services of eminent 
men, the historical detail of their actions, and a 
faithful delineation of their virtues, will ever be 
found the most honourable to the deceased, and 
the most useful to the living. Marbles and in¬ 
scriptions may be very becoming marks of na¬ 
tional gratitude, and proper stimulants to the 
imitation of illustrious deeds, but whatever be the 
utility of these performances, as objects of taste, 
feeling, and patriotism,, their moral influence is 
contracted within narrow limits: and such is the 
natural imperfection of the human mind, that it 

B 



£ 

loses the impression of the most splendid works 
of art, when they are no longer within the reach 
of observation. There is also an unavoidable 
disadvantage in the productions of the statuary, 
that they are necessarily confined to single inci¬ 
dents in the lives of heroic characters: from 
which circumstance, it happens, that while the 
spectator is attracted to the contemplation of a 
particular scene of glory, he is deprived of the 
more substantial benefit which he would receive 
in estimating the entire merit of departed great¬ 
ness. The humblest chronicler, therefore, may, 
without the imputation of vanity, lay claim to 
indulgence, when he reports in a strain of sim¬ 
plicity those facts, which, but for his care, 
would fade away from the memory, and leave 
even statues and mausoleums subject to regret 
and complaint in a future age, for the want of 
accurate and minute memorials illustrative of 
their subjects. Impressed with this considera¬ 
tion, and sensible of the obligation laid upon 
contemporaries to record, while they have it in 
their power, the virtues which they have wit¬ 
nessed, the writer of these sheets has ventured 
to publish an unadorned account of a com- 


3 


mander, whose amiable qualities endeared him to 
his friends, and whose splendid services, though 
displayed in distant regions, will ever entitle 
him to the admiration of his country. So long, 
indeed, as military virtue shall be held in esteem, 
and so long as our national history shall be read 
with pride and emulation, so long will the name 
of this heroic character be mentioned with en¬ 
thusiasm, and his exploits pointed out as ex¬ 
amples of imitation. 


Robert Rollo Gillespie was born at the 
paternal seat of Cumber, in the county of Down 
January the twenty-first, 1766. His grand¬ 
father, who married a daughter of Lord Rollo, 
removed from Scotland, to take possession of 
some estates in Ireland, in the year 1720 . The 
son of this respectable gentleman espoused for 
his third wife a lady of the first connexions, 
who was also of Scottish extraction, being the 
sister of James Bailie, Esq. of Innisharie, in 
the county of Down, and many years represen¬ 
tative in the Irish parliament for the town of 
Hillsborough. There were no children by the 
two first marriages ; and the only fruit of the last 

B 2 


4 


was the subject of the present memoir, who, in 
consequence, experienced from the fondest of 
parents every indulgence, though at the same 
time they were studiously attentive to the right 
direction of his moral principles, and the culti¬ 
vation of his understanding. The elements of 
instruction he received from his mother, who 
was in all respects a most accomplished woman, 
and knew well how to blend authority with 
affection. But at an early age he was brought 
to England, and placed in a private seminary at 
Kensington, known at that time by the name of 
Norland House, and rendered fashionable . as a 
place of education by the expence with which it 
was conducted, and the rank and wealth of the 
pupils. What advancement in learning our 
youth made at this place does not exactly ap¬ 
pear ; but if his attainments were neither so 
extensive nor deep as to rank him among 
scholars, his general taste for letters, and the 
eleganceof hisconversation, plainly evinced, that, 
whatever might have been his irregularities, he 
had not failed in an application to his studies 
when at school, nor neglected to improve what he 
had acquired in the vicissitudes of active life. It 


5 

was the wish of his friends that he should follow 
the profession of the law ; but the course they 
adopted was ill calculated for that object, as, in¬ 
stead of training the mind to constant discipline 
and patient investigation, it may almost be said to 
have given an excessive latitude to the passions, 
and to have opened perpetually new scenes of 
pleasure to the imagination. Instead of taking a 
house in the immediate vicinity of the metropo¬ 
lis, the parents fixed their residence at Bath, 
where, during the vacations, young Gillespie 
was introduced into all the gay circles at that 
seat of amusement and dissipation. Accustomed 
to the unlimited gratification of his wishes from 
his very childhood, and thus habituated at the 
most critical period of life to scenes of extrava¬ 
gance in this receptacle of the wealthy and the 
idle, the weak and designing, it is not at all to be 
wondered that he should return to school with a 
lessened inclination to study, or that he should 
contract an insuperable aversion to the laborious 
application which was necessary to qualify him 
for distinction at the bar. To that distinction, 
however, parental ambition and regard continued 
to look with a fixed and anxious solicitude; and. 


6 


therefore, in that view, the son was removed 
from Norland House to the care of the Reverend 
Mr. Tookey of Exning, near Newmarket, that 
he might profit by that gentleman’s instructions, 
preparatory to his admission as a commoner of 
Emmanuel College in Cambridge. But this 
design was rendered abortive at the next visit 
to Bath, during the vacation, by the determined 
resolution of the youth to embrace the military 
profession ; with which his parents reluctantly 
complied, and he returned to his tutor no more. 
It was now the close of the American war, 
which circumstance probably occasioned the less 
difficulty in the consent that was given to the 
purchase of a cornetcy in the third regiment of 
horse carabineers ; his appointment to which 
was dated April the twenty-eighth, 17S3. To one 
who had scarcely met with any restraint, and 
had not yet reached his eighteenth year, this new 
situation was attended with danger, on account of 
the idleness induced by it in the time of peace, 
and the variety of temptationscontinually spring, 
jng up through the courtesy of strangers, or the 
ingenuity of associates. The powerful stimu¬ 
lant to mental improvement and professional 


7 

activity is wanting in the season of profound 
repose, especially at the termination of a long 
and painful struggle, which has not been distin¬ 
guished by any extraordinary atchievements, 
or crowned at last by national glory. At the 
period of which we are speaking, the martial 
ardour was rather depressed than animated, 
owing to the ill success of our arms, and the 
scanty trophies which had rewarded our laborious 
efforts in North America. When, therefore, we 
receded from the contest, and abandoned the 
avowed object for which it was so long main¬ 
tained, there was nothing that could warrant the 
exultation of the veteran, or excite the ardent 
emulation of the youthful soldier. The termina¬ 
tion of that tremendous conflict resembled the 
awful subsidence of a hurricane, more than the 
tranquil satisfaction of restored security: and 
though every one was glad of repose, yet none 
were presumptuous enough to claim a triumph. 
On all sides there appeared more wreck than 
glory ; and though splendid instances of valour 
both by land and sea were not wanting, yet to 
none of them could the decisive influence be 
attributed of procuring for Great Britain an 


8 

ascendency over her competitors. Such was 
the gloomy and unpromising era when this 
gallant and enterprising officer entered the ser¬ 
vice ; and, therefore, if a considerable blank oc¬ 
curs in the early part of his military life, and if, 
during that space, he suffered himself to be 
allured by the attractive pleasures generally laid 
in the way of his profession, the excuse will be 
found in the peculiar circumstances under which 
he was placed, and the little prospect there then 
was of his ever being called into active employ¬ 
ment. Still, amidst the varieties with which he 
mixed, the convivialities in which he indulged, 
and the sports which he followed, he was not 
insensible to the loss sustained by him in the 
want of a proper sphere for the application of his 
powers and the improvement of his talents. An 
impulse to exertion was wanting: and though a 
succession of amusements seemed almost to have 
engrossed his thoughts in the preparation, and 
his hours in the enjoyment, inquietude preyed 
on his mind, and repletion embittered his festi¬ 
vities. His soul panted for the field of toil, and 
thirsted for the career of glory. With this view, 
he entreated his father to afford him the means 


9 

of entering the Austrian service, where, though 
he might not attain rank or renown, he would be 
certain of enlarging his mind by knowledge, and 
of correcting it by discipline. But, undeniably 
just as were his arguments, and commendable 
his motives, parental fear presented an obstacle 
to his desires, which could neither be overcome 
by reason, nor be softened by importunity. The 
idea of parting with an only child was so distress- 
ing, that even the natural wish to see him rise 
to the height of professional eminence failed to 
preponderate in favour of his laudible request. 
Thus, parental tenderness not only impeded his 
progress for a season, but may be said, without 
offence, to have occasioned those irregularities 
in conduct, and that waste of time, which at a 
latter period no one more candidly confessed or 
deeply lamented than this brave and high-minded 
man, who was so far from palliating or denying 
the errors of his early days, that he converted 
them into a lesson of humiliation to himself, 
and of caution to others. Yet, amidst the se¬ 
duction of amusement and the allurements of 
pleasure, the indulgence of friends, and the 
warmth of his passions, he never lost sight of 


10 


his moral dignity, nor deviated from the line of 
his professional duty. On the contrary, he was 
beloved by his companions, and esteemed by his 
superiors: wherever he resided, the suavity of 
his manners, and the excellence of hisdisposition, 
rendered him the delight of society, while the 
elegance of his person made him an object of 
general admiration. These amiable qualities 
produced an important change in his condition 
before his attainment of complete maturity: and 
though the circumstances attending this portion 
of his history may beconsidered as havinga roman¬ 
tic character, the narrative is strictly true in the 
minutest instances. One fine day, in the month 
of June, 1786, Mr. Gillespie, who was then 
quartered with bis troops at Clogher, being 
riding out in the neighbourhood, met a young 
and very elegant lady, who was also on horseback. 
Though totally unacquainted with each other, 
both, by an instantaneous, and, as it were, sympa¬ 
thetic impulse, made a stop on passing, and 
turned their horses to take a second view of 
what had excited a sudden admiration. Ordi¬ 
nary compliments led to inquiry; and the follow¬ 
ing day the young officer called to pay his res- 


11 


pects at the Deanry, where the young lady. 
Miss Annabell, the fourth daughter of the late 
Thomas Taylor, Esq. of Taylor’s Grange, in 
the county of Dublin, was then on a visit. 
Such was the prepossessing manner of our 
hero, that if his appearance at a casual observa¬ 
tion made an impression on the heart of his new 
and fair acquaintance, his lively conversation 
couid not fail to please her reverend friend. 
The intimacy, indeed, quickly ripened into an 
attachment more striking than civility; and, as 
the Deanry was the seat of hospitality and cheer¬ 
fulness, v\ hich the worthy owner endeavoured to 
enliven by his liberality, he kindly invited the 
young officer to become an inmate in his family ; 
which courteous offer was the more readily ac¬ 
cepted, because, independent of the attractions 
which it presented, so convenient was the dis¬ 
tance from Clogher, that no difficulty could 
possibly occur with respect to the proper dis¬ 
charge of military duty. In this happy circle 
the hours flew rapidly away, to the satisfaction 
of all parties, who were so much engaged in a 
round of amusements, and so entirely at their 
ease in all their pursuits, that not the slightest 


12 


suspicion was formed of what was passing in the 
hearts of the two lovers. The wound, however, 
which each had received at first sight, deepened 
by daily intercourse, and became incurable by 
the opportunities that perpetually offered of as¬ 
certaining their mutual sentiments, and of ap¬ 
preciating their respective merits. Some months 
were spent in this course of harmony and affec¬ 
tion, when the cheerful scene was clouded by 
the recall of the young lady to her brother’s 
seat at Ravensdale, which, though romantically 
beautiful, appeared now like a desert to her, who, 
in her journey home, drew after her a lengthened 
chain of delicious recollections and painful ap¬ 
prehensions. Her thoughts involuntarily wan¬ 
dered back to the delightful society from which 
she had been withdrawn, and a chilling fear 
would sometimes arise, alarming the mind with 
an idea that the season of bliss had passed to re¬ 
turn no more: nor was the Deanry without its 
portion of similar restlessness and mental de¬ 
pression. The spirit which had given life to the 
place, and diffused joy over the social party, was 
gone, leaving a cheerless void behind, which no 
increased attentions could relieve, nor any mul- 


13 

tiplred diversions supply. This blank in an en¬ 
deared society becoming daily more oppressive, 
and our young hero being unwilling to damp the 
enjoyments of others by his own uneasiness, 
took leave of the dean at the end of a fortnight, 
and bent his course to Ravensdale. On his ar¬ 
rival, he did not chuse to make himself known, 
but walked about the grounds the remainder of 
the day, in the expectation of seeing the genius 
of the place, whose magic influence had drawn 
him thither. He was disappointed at that time; 
but the day following, chance brought the lovers 
together quite unexpectedly, in the path of a 
neighbouring wood ; and their mutual expres¬ 
sions of surprise and satisfaction having sub¬ 
sided, they returned to the house, where Mr. 
Gillespie was heartily welcomed as the particular 
friend of the worthy dean. Here he resided 
some weeks, during which, the interchange of 
sentiment was productive of various plans, de¬ 
vised in youthful ardour, for the attainment of 
happiness, unrestrained by the calculations of 
parental caution and matured experience. A 
private marriage was mutually agreed upon, and 
accordingly the eager couple proceeded on the 


14 


wings of love to Dublin, where the ceremony 
took place, on the twenty-fourth of November, 
1786. The union remained a secret for some 
time; but when a return to quarters could no 
longer be deferred, a communication of the fact 
was made to the friends on both sides, and the 
happy pair hastened to Clogher, where they re¬ 
ceived the congratulations of their acquaintance, 
and spent the winter in mirth and festivity. 
This season of gladness, however, was of short 
duration, and within a few months after the 
marriage, a dreadful circumstance occurred, 
which plunged the young couple in affliction, 
and threatened the utter destruction of all their 
prospects of felicity. 

The quarters being removed to the barracks of 
Athy, in the County of Kildare, a violent alterca¬ 
tion there took place in the apartments of Mr. 
Gillespie, between two young gentlemen of his 
acquaintance ; one, a brother officer of his regi¬ 
ment ; and the other, a person of respectable con¬ 
nexions in the neighbourhood. All endeavours 
to bring the matter to an amicable union proving 
ineffectual, a meeting was fixed upon for the 
next morning; and what was remarkable enough. 


15 

the most ardent of the two insisted upon fights 
ing on a particular part of his family estate. 
Here, accordingly, at the time appointed, the 
parties came, attended by their respective friends. 
After exchanging shots without injuring each 
other, it was proposed that the affair should end 
with a mutual declaration of satisfaction. The 
young man, however, who had displayed such 
peculiar marks of irritability on the occasion, as 
to chuse his own paternal domain for the scene 
of combat, being apparently disappointed in the 
bloodless result of the interview, burned with 
passionate fury against Mr. Gillespie, loading 
him with opprobrious epithets, and challenging 
him to fight on the spot. This outrageous pro¬ 
vocation was more than human nature could en¬ 
dure: but as Gillespie knew that his antagonist 
had been exercising himself some hours before 
in shooting at a mark, he determined that no ad¬ 
vantage should be taken of him by this circum¬ 
stance. When, therefore, he took up the gauntlet 
which had been so rude ly and unwarrantably 
thrown down against him, he drew out his hand¬ 
kerchief, and holding it by one corner, offered 
the extremity to his opponent. Such was the dis- 


16 

tance and the manner in which this fatal conflict 
took place : but if the accustomed practice of a 
measured distance was departed from, in the al¬ 
most certain assurance of death to one or both 
of the parties, there was at least this plea for the 
deviation—that it put them upon equal terms, 
which could not have been the case had the ag¬ 
gressor been suffered to avail himself of the su¬ 
periority which he had acquired by his previous 
habits. Both fired at the same moment, and 
with such effect, that the antagonist of Gillespie 
was shot through the heart, while the latter es¬ 
caped almost miraculously, his adversary’s ball 
glancing aside by hitting upon a button, and in¬ 
flicting only a slight wound. In this state he 
knelt down by the suffering victim of passion, 
and intreated a parting proof of reconciliation ; 
but, instead of making any impression by this 
act of kindness and condescension, he had the 
mortification of seeing that the ruling spirit pre¬ 
vailed to the last, for the young man, in the 
agonies of death, continued to evince the utmost 
impatience, and his last words were, “ Take him 
away, take him away/* The survivor in this 
melancholy affray was so much affected by the 


17 

shocking catastrophe, that he forgot his own 
wound, and was regardless of the danger which 
he ran by remaining on the ground, till some 
gentlemen who were present hurried him off to 
a place of security. His first asylum was the 
glebe-house of his friend, Dean Keatinge, at 
Narraghmore, where he was joined by his wife, 
who was in a state of affliction bordering upon 
distraction. When the news of the affair reach¬ 
ed Dublin, the two brothers of Mrs. Gillespie 
hastened down to Narraghmore, to provide for 
the safety of their relation till the assizes, parti¬ 
cularly as the circumstances of the transaction 
were grossly misrepresented, and a reward was 
offered in the papers for the apprehension of the 
fugitive, who made the best of his way in dis¬ 
guise to the capital, and from thence to the 
house of his father at Donaghadee. To increase 
the distress occasioned by this tragical event, he 
found his aged parent in such an enfeebled state, 
that it was to be feared the intelligence of what 
had happened would cut asunder the remaining 
thread of life. It required, therefore, consider¬ 
able caution and management, to keep the sad 
history a profound secret from the old gentle- 


c 


18 


man, and even to appear cheerful in his presence. 
This was.a hard task; and the more so, as it 
was natural to expect that a close search would 
soon take place in that neighbourhood, by those 
who were influenced to make it, either out of 
resentment, or from the desire of gain. To avoid 
the inconvenience of a long confinement in a 
county jail, our young adventurer, as we may 
now call him, found an excuse for his departure, 
and, with his wife, crossed over to Scotland, 
where they remained some months. On the ap¬ 
proach of the assizes, they returned to Drogheda, 
from which place Mr. Gillespie went in disguise 
to Dublin, to arrange matters for the awful bu¬ 
siness which was to follow ; and then, accom¬ 
panied by his second, proceeded to Maraghmore, 
where they surrendered themselves, and were 
committed to the prison of that town, to wait 
the decision of their fate, according to the laws 
of their country. It was an affecting spectacle, 
to behold two young men of the most interesting 
appearance and connexion, standing at the bar 
together, on the highest of all charges that can 
be brought against man, that of shedding the 
blood of a fellow creature: but though the pri- 


19 

toners had witnesses ready in court to prove 
that the deceased met with his premature de¬ 
struction entirely through his own rashness and 
intemperance, the judge and jury were so com¬ 
pletely convinced of the fact, from the evidence 
for the prosecution, as to render their testimony 
unnecessary, and a verdict of acquittal was im¬ 
mediately pronounced, to the satisfaction of the 
whole assembly. 

Much as the practice of duelling is to be re¬ 
probated, and disgraceful as the frequency of it 
is in a civilized country, there are particular oc¬ 
casions, when no alternative remains between 
the degradation of professional character, and 
the submission to an act, which is equally re¬ 
volting to the feelings of sensibility, and the 
sober dictates of conscience. The present trans¬ 
action was certainly one of this description; and 
though it is to be regretted that the angry pas¬ 
sions of the parties did not meet with a mode¬ 
rating spirit in the persons whose duty it was to 
have restrained their violence, there was, at least, 
this melancholy consolation attending it, that 
every charge of wrong and provocation closed 
with the grave of the aggressor. 

c 2 


20 

This unpleasant business having terminated 
to the honour of the accused, Mr. Gillespie re¬ 
turned to his father, who was not made acquaint¬ 
ed with the painful history till some time after¬ 
wards : and the state of his health was such, lhat 
it was then to be feared that the shock of the 
intelligence would have proved fatal. Through¬ 
out the whole of the concern, our hero’s mother 
conducted herself with uncommon fortitude and 
address, in providing for his security, and con¬ 
triving to keep all suspicion and information of 
the matter from her husband. But young Mrs. 
Gillespie, who had even the resolution to attend 
the trial, and from the beginning to the end 
shewed a noble energy of mind, when all the 
trouble of concealment and apprehension of dan¬ 
ger was over, sunk under a depression of spirits 
which threatened the most alarming conse¬ 
quences, and from which she recovered slowly, 
through the tender attentions of the family, and 
the skill of Dr. Fuller of Belfast. In 1791, Mr. 
Gillespie lost his father; and in July the follow¬ 
ing year he obtained the rank of lieutenant in 
the twentieth regiment of Light Dragoons. 
This advancement altered the resolution which 


21 


he had formed some time before of quitting thft 
military life, and settling on his estate as a 
country gentleman ; with which view the ground 
was actually laid out, and plans prepared for 
building a suitable mansion. He had been in¬ 
duced to do this at the request of his father, 
who could not endure the idea of parting with 
an only son, at a time when his own age and in¬ 
firmities required support and relief. But when 
this affectionate bond of restraint was taken off, 
and no other check was opposed in the way of 
his laudable desire of active employment, and 
honourable elevation, he made the necessary 
preparations for joining his regiment at Jamaica, 
and, having taken a tender leave of his wife 
and mother at Farm Hill near Belfast, embarked 
for that island in the winter of 1792 . On the 
voyage the ship touched at Madeira; but a storm 
coming on, she was driven out of the road, though 
some of the passengers, among whom was Lieu¬ 
tenant Gillespie, were fortunate enough, at the 
peril of their lives, and amidst a mountainous 
sea, to reach the shore in the long-boat. After 
beating about near three weeks, the vessel again 
made the island, and when refitted, proceeded 


22 


without any other delay or accident to the place 
of destination. But so eventful was the life of 
this interesting young man, that the very first 
night of his arrival at Jamaica he met with a 
misfortune, from which it seemed that nothing 
short of a miracle could deliver him. 

The people of the house where he lodged had 
so little regard for humanity, as to give him a 
bed on which a young man died just before, in 
the yellow fever. He was taken ill that very 
night, and continued two months in a very pre¬ 
carious state: but though he was much reduced 
by the severity of the attack, the vigour of his 
constitution overcame the disease, and he reco¬ 
vered almost from the very jaws of death. Du¬ 
ring this dreadful state of uncertainty, his friends 
at home were suffering acutely, for, as the voy¬ 
age had been long, and this tedious sickness 
prevented him from writing, the silence was na¬ 
turally ascribed to the most awful and distressing 
of causes. At length, when hope had given 
way to a gloomy despondency, the welcome let¬ 
ters arrived, apprising his wife and mother of his 
painful illness and complete recovery. 

War with the French republic becoming in- 


23 


dispensible, from the violent character and hos¬ 
tile acts of the ruling faction in that unhappy 
country, the utmost exertions were required to 
place our colonies in a state of defence. Ja¬ 
maica, in particular, was placed in very critical 
circumstances, by the progress which jacobinism 
in its most frightful form was then making in 
St. Domingo. The well-disposed colonists in 
this last island had, some time before, made 
secret overtures to the British government for a 
union and protection ; in consequence of which, 
private assistance was liberally given to these 
unhappy persons, through the humane atten¬ 
tions of General Williamson, who then com¬ 
manded in Jamaica ; but His Majesty’s ministers 
were deeply sensible of the difficulty attending 
any enterprize that should have for its object an 
establishment in a country where the evil of 
pestilential disease was less to be dreaded than 
the revolutionary frenzy which had begun to 
operate in the minds of the black population. 
Still the security of our own valuable settle¬ 
ments in the neighbourhood called for some 
measures to keep the republican influence in 
check, and to prevent, as far as possible, the 


24 


spreading of an insurrectional contagion through¬ 
out our colonies. This necessity being ad¬ 
mitted, it is to be lamented that the means 
employed were not of a magnitude proportioned 
to the urgency of the case, and the gallantry of 
those who engaged in this hazardous under¬ 
taking; among whom, Lieutenant Gillespie was 
one of the first to volunteer his services with 
the infantry; his own regiment still remaining 
for the defence of Jamaica. At this period, two 
republican commissioners, Santhonax and Pol- 
verel, held the executive government of St. Do¬ 
mingo: and such was the desperate policy of 
these infuriated characters, that when they were 
apprized of the intended invasion, a proclama¬ 
tion appeared, in their names, announcing the 
full and unqualified emancipation of all the 
negroes. There can be no doubt but that this 
was a hollow artifice, calculated, by setting the 
slaves at liberty, to inflame their passions against 
those planters who were actuated by moderate 
principles, and who retained a proper respect 
for ancient institutions. It w r as well known, 
that many of these persons were so inimical to 
the new doctrines which brought in tyranny and 


25 


murder under the specious pretext of liberty 
and equality, that in the event of an expedition 
from Jamaica, they would be disposed rather to 
welcome the English as deliverers, than to re¬ 
sist them as enemies. The commissioners, 
therefore, who had not the smallest feeling for 
the true interests of the colony, nor any real 
design to promote the welfare of the blacks, re¬ 
solved to give freedom and arms to the latter, 
that, in the end, they might succeed in the sub¬ 
jugation and ruin of both. Such was the state 
of St. Domingo when the armament from Ja¬ 
maica arrived on its coast; but, notwithstanding 
the combination of difficulties which were to be 
encountered, possession was taken of the town 
and harbour of Jeremie on the twentieth of 
September, 1793, and of the mole of Cape St. 
Nicholas two days afterwards. So auspicious 
a beginning occasioned general exultation and 
confidence among the troops, which, however, 
met with a depression in the failure of an at¬ 
tempt upon Tiburon, the capture of which place 
was deemed of importance, on account of its 
proximity to Jamaica. In consequence of this 
repulse, the expedition returned to Jeremie, 


2 6 

there to wa ; t for an increase of strength, which 
it received in the middle of January, by the ar¬ 
rival of the twentieth regiment, part of the forty- 
ninth, and the first battalion of the Royals. 
During this interval, the command of a troop 
had been conferred upon Mr. Gillespie, who, in 
that capacity, acted under the orders of Lieu¬ 
tenant-Colonel Spencer, at the second, and more 
fortunate attempt on Tiburon ; which, in spite 
of a very obstinate resistance, was carried in the 
most gallant style on the third of February ; and 
by this capture, an extensive line of coast, com¬ 
prising several important positions and har¬ 
bours, came into the hands of the British. The 
arrival of a fresh accession of forces, commanded 
by Brigadier-General Whyte, on the nineteenth 
of May, cheered the prospects of the old colo¬ 
nists, by invigorating the efforts of their friends 
and allies, who were determined to venture an 
attack without delay upon Port-au-Prince, 
which had been for a considerable time block¬ 
aded by the squadron under Commodore Ford. 
Previous, however, to the assault, it was thought 
proper to send a flag of truce to the commis¬ 
sioner, Santhonax, demanding a surrender of the 


27 

place. The mission, from the character of the 
man, was dangerous, but it was readily under* 
taken by Captain Gillespie, and Captain Rowley 
of the navy, both of whom were fired at in at¬ 
tempting to swim to the shore, with their 
swords in their mouths. They, however, landed 
without being injured, but were made prisoners, 
and hurried before the governor, who had so 
little respect for the customary usages of civi¬ 
lized warfare, as to charge these gallant officers 
with being spies, and threatening in that sple¬ 
netic mood to put them to death. In this cri¬ 
tical moment, the subject of the present me¬ 
moir perceived some emblem of freemasonry 
about the person of the commissioner, or one of 
his attendants ; and being himself a member of 
that fraternity, a sudden thought occurred to 
him, of making one of the signs peculiar to the 
order, and that in a way which could not be 
overlooked by the irritated republican. The in¬ 
timation being luckily understood, an instanta¬ 
neous change took place in the countenance and 
deportment of the governor, who behaved with 
the greatest respect to the two officers; and, 
though he gave a positive refusal to their de- 


28 


mand, he ordered a sumptuous repast to be 
prepared for their refreshment. From his pre¬ 
ceding conduct, they were apprehensive of 
some treacherous design, and declined the en¬ 
tertainment; on which, Santhonax, who guessed 
the motive, immediately began to eat and drink, 
to convince them that their fears were ground¬ 
less. Being satisfied by this action,"that no in¬ 
jury was intended under this appearance of 
courtesy and hospitality, both gentlemen gladly 
accepted the invitation; after which, they were 
conveyed to the port, and conducted in a boat 
to the squadron. On the evening of the thirty- 
first, the strong fort of Bizotton, commanding 
the carriage road leading from Leogane to Port- 
au-Prince, was carried by assault, amidst a tre¬ 
mendous thunder-storm, and while the rain 
poured down in torrents upon the assailants, 
who were thus compelled to rely solely upon 
the bayonet. In this attack, Captain Gillespie 
bore a distinguished part, as he afterwards did 
in that which put Fort de PHopital in our pos¬ 
session, where the combatants had a narrow es¬ 
cape with their lives, the commissioners having 
caused a train of powder to be laid from a 


29 

thicket outside the fort, and reaching to the ma¬ 
gazine, with the intention of blowing up the 
besieged and the besiegers. Fortunately, this 
iniquitous plan was rendered abortive by the 
preceding tempest; in consequence of which, 
the train became wet, and the horrible sacrifice 
was prevented. The fall of the capital being 
thus secured, the British took immediate pos¬ 
session, and found in the harbour a number of 
vessels richly laden ; but a far greater booty had 
been carried off by the commissioners, who, 
contemplating the capture of the place as cer¬ 
tain, loaded two hundred mules with the most 
valuable riches, which they succeeded in carry¬ 
ing to the northern part of the island, and from 
thence to Europe, by the way of America, 
With the acquisition of Port-au-Prince, our do¬ 
minion in St. Domingo may be said to have at¬ 
tained its height, and the flattering expectations 
of the brave men employed there to have re¬ 
ceived a fearful change. From this period their 
efforts slackened, and the hopes of the colonists 
were in consequence turned into a state of 
gloomy despondency. To add to the evil, the 
yellow fever began to make a shocking havock 


30 


among the Europeans, and many excellent of* 
fleers fell victims to its pestilential influence. 
Captain Gillespie also suffered much from the 
effects of his wounds, the excessive fatigue 
which he had undergone, and the enfeebled 
state of his constitution in that unhealthy clime. 
Availing himself, therefore, of the temporary 
suspension of operations, he obtained leave of 
absence to visit England, as well to recruit his 
health, as to arrange some domestic affairs which 
required his presence. On the passage home 
from Jamaica, the ship was wrecked in the 
Channel, and he lost all his baggage, in which 
destitute condition he reached London in Oc¬ 
tober, 1794, where his wife joined him soon 
afterwards, and they returned to Ireland. After 
spending some months with his excellent mo¬ 
ther, and selling an estate, Captain Gillespie 
went with his lady through Scotland and Eng¬ 
land, for health and amusement. At the close 
of the following year he proceeded to Cork, in 
order to embark again for the West Indies, as 
Brigade-Major to the staff of Major-General 
Wilford, under whom he originally entered the 
service, when that officer had the command of 


31 

the carabineers. While the transports collected 
at Cork were detained by bad weather and con¬ 
trary winds, Captain Gillespie went one evening 
to the theatre, where an unpleasant disturbance 
arose, occasioned by the obstinate disaffection 
of some of the audience, in refusing to stand 
uncovered at the singing of the national ode of 
“ God save the King/* One of these refractory 
persons happened to sit next to our hero, 
who, being warmed into a zealous fit of re¬ 
sentment at his insufferable insolence, took off 
his hat without ceremony. This, naturally 
enough, produced an altercation and a scuffle, 
in the course of which, the man was very 
roughly handled; and what was worse, the 
bridge of his nose was demolished in the fray. 
If the mortification occasioned by this injury to 
his person was great, it was heightened to the 
excess of desperation by the loss of his mistress, 
to whom he was about to be married, but who 
altered her mind on the report of this defeat and 
its consequence. The disappointed lover, upon 
this, made inquiry after his antagonist, and 
having ascertained his name and lodging, ob« 


32 

tained a warrant for his apprehension. But as 
a detention to answer the charge would have 
been more inconvenient than the fear of the re¬ 
sult, the captain prudently accepted an invita¬ 
tion from Sir Thomas Roberts, of Prittlestown, 
to reside at his house till the time of embarka¬ 
tion. After thus eluding a search on shore for 
some days, he went to the ship in the disguise 
of a soldier’s wife; and so completely was the 
character assumed, that when the officers vi¬ 
sited the vessel to make a search, they had not 
the least suspicion of the metamorphosis, espe¬ 
cially as the object of their inquiry had an in¬ 
fant in his arms when they came to look for him. 

This anecdote may perhaps appear to some 
readers as too trivial and ludicrous for inser¬ 
tion in the memoir of such a man ; but if it 
be considered that the genuine character of 
a public person is always best ascertained by 
the knowledge of those incidents which shew 
his temper and energy in casual circumstances, 
the present one will be found of sufficient im- 
importance, as it displays the inherent loyalty 
of this gallant officer, a virtue which may be 


33 


t,u, y sa *^ ^ ave animated him throughout 
life, and to have given, in no small degree, a 
chivalrous and romantic cast to his actions. 

The detention at Cork was so remarkably 
long and tedious, that the troops were obliged 
to be disembarked, and placed in temporary 
barracks on Spike Island, in that harbour, where 
they suffered severely from disease, and num¬ 
bers of valuable lives were lost. At length, 
the expedition, which was commanded by Ge¬ 
neral Abercrombie, sailed for the object of des¬ 
tination, which was the capture of the French 
islands in the West Indies ; but, owing to the 
weak state of our force, only that of St. Lucia 
was then taken. After that conquest, a di¬ 
vision under General Wilford proceeded to Cape 
St. Nicholas, in St. Domingo, which General 
forbes, by his able management,, maintained 
against the enemy, who were kept at a respect¬ 
able distance. On the twenty-fifth of De¬ 
cember, 179b, Captain Gillespie was promoted 
to a majority in his regiment; and in the follow¬ 
ing spring he was particularly distinguished by 
General Simco, on his arrival from England to 


p 


take the command of the British forces in that 
quarter. Immediately on his landing at the 
mole, the general proceeded to inspect the con¬ 
dition of the troops, and the positions which 
they occupied : and in this inquiry, he derived 
considerable assistance from the information of 
Major Gillespie, whose penetrating eye per¬ 
vaded every weakness, while his active genius 
was always fruitful of resources. It had been 
his constant object, from the first moment that 
he set foot on the island, to make himself ac¬ 
quainted wdth its local varieties, with the sole 
view of ascertaining the advantages to which 
they might be applied : and this he was the 
better enabled to do, from his intimacy with 
Colonel de Charmilly, who was a native of 
the place, and who possessed considerable plan¬ 
tations there, but which, in consequence of hjs 
open loyalty, were seized by the republican 
faction. The friendship which subsisted be¬ 
tween this gentleman and the major was 
equally sincere on both sides, as it resulted 
from the purest motives ; for both were brave, 
frank, and liberal, aiming only to discharge 


35 


their duty, and regardless of the sacrifices 
which they were compelled to make for the 
public good. 

The unremitting energy, the amiable quali¬ 
ties, and superior discernment of Major Gil¬ 
lespie, could not be overlooked by General 
Simco, who placed an entire confidence in his 
judgment and activity, particularly in the defence 
of Port-au-Prince, when that capital became 
the object of attack. As the black forces were 
very formidable, in point of number, courage, and 
skill, it was deemed adviseable to concentrate 
the British strength, and to abandon many of the 
works which had been erected there, with more 
labour and expense than utility. At this time, the 
enemy were commanded by the celebrated 
Toussaint L’Ouverture, one of those rare charac¬ 
ters who spring up in revolutionary periods, and 
gain an ascendency over their confederates by ttie 
superiority of their talents, or the influence of 
their virtues. Toussaint had the peculiar merit 
of deserving the confidence reposed in him, 
as much by the excellence of his private cha¬ 
racter, as by his personal bravery and mili- 
v 2 


36 

tary judgment. Such wa3 the chief with 
whom the British had now to contend in St. 
Domingo, after a struggle of three years, at 
the end of which the extent of our posses¬ 
sions in the island consisted of the capi¬ 
tal, and the line of coast that had been se¬ 
cured in the primary stage of the enterprize. 
But Port-au-Prince was now menaced, in its 
turn, by the black forces, who were suffered 
to erect several batteries, and to accumulate 
in considerable numbers before the place, the 
fall of which they fully anticipated. In this 
confident expectation, however, they were dis¬ 
appointed by a sudden and vigorous assault, 
which ended in the complete destruction of 
their works, and precipitate retreat of Toussaint 
to Gonave. In all these operations, and in several 
others, Major Gillespie bore a leading part, with 
so much satisfaction, as to draw from General 
Simco a warm expression of praise at the time, 
and, some years afterwards, the declaration, 
that it was his intention, if he had continued 
there, to have employed him in the most confi¬ 
dential manner. The return of that officer to 


37 

Europe, in August, 1797» put an end to this 
resolution ; but his successor, General Whyte, 
who was as ready to distinguish extraordi¬ 
nary merit as competent to discern it, con¬ 
ferred upon the major the honourable situation 
of deputy adjutant-general. Before the expi¬ 
ration of the year, that officer quitted the 
island, and was succeeded by General Nesbit, 
who, dying shortly afterwards, his place was 
filled up by the Honourable General Maitland, 
who arrived at Port-au-Prince in April, 1793. 
The aspect of affairs was now gloomy in the 
extreme; and the occupancy of the capital 
being no longer secure, it was delivered up, 
together with the dependencies, on the most 
honourable terms, and such as could not have 
been hoped for in the state of things to which 
the English were reduced. A truce for a 
month was entered into with Toussaint, who 
engaged also to protect inviolably the persons 
and property of all the inhabitants, without any 
distinction. Having terminated this important 
business, the English general proceeded with 
the troops to the mole of Cape St. Nicholas, 
there to wait the final arrangements for a 


38 

total evacuation of the island. In these nego- 
ciations, which were attended with circum¬ 
stances of peculiar difficulty, and even danger, 
the only person upon whom the commander- 
in-chief could finally depend was Major 
Gillespie; but though this gallant officer con¬ 
ducted the charge with which he was entrusted 
far beyond the ideas or hopes of his employer, 
which the general manifested by embracing 
and thanking him on his return, strange it is to 
say, that, in the official communication dis¬ 
patched to government, all the merit of the 
transaction, which ensured the safety of the 
English and their friends, was attributed to 
another, and the name of the real negociator 
passed over in silence. This w T as not the only 
injury which he sustained in that difficult 
service; for, besides the depression of spirits 
occasioned by the premature death of many 
of his most intimate friends, through the un¬ 
healthiness of the climate, he had a narrow 
escape for his life from assassination. 

One night he was roused from a profound 
sleep by the cries of murder, on hearing which, 
he ran down stairs with his sword, and found 


39 

bis servant boy dreadfully mangled, his arm 
being nearly severed at the shoulder. The vil¬ 
lains, who were no less than eight men, ot 
different nations, immediately on the appear¬ 
ance of the major made a desperate attack 
upon him, which he repelled with such effect 
as to lay six of the assailants dead at his feet, 
whose fate so appalled the other two, that they 
cried for quarter, and retreated ; but in going 
off, one of the wretches turned suddenly round, 
and fired, with an aim that had nearly proved 
fatal, as the shot grazed the temple, and carried 
away part of the hair. The report quickly 
brought up the patrole, who were astonished 
at the horrible scene of carnage below stairs, 
and naturally expected to find a more dreadful 
one in the bed-room of the major, whom 
they found lying in a fainting state, and bleed¬ 
ing to death. Medical aid being speedily 
procured, this brilliant ornament of his pro¬ 
fession was snatched from the jaws of the 
grave, though his recovery was slow ; and the 
effects of the wounds which he received in 
this unequal conflict, added to the fatigue 
and anxiety endured by hint in that arduous 


40 

service, were felt during the remainder of his 
life. That life, however, was providentially 
preserved for the public good, and to acquire 
immortal fame on a wider scale, in other 
regions. The relation of this romantic instanc e 
of personal valour spread rapidly throughout 
the neighbouring islands, and was conveyed to 
Europe, having, according to custom, some 
additions, one of which was, that the major 
died of his wounds. This embellishment had 
the unhappy effect of shocking the enfeebled 
frame and agitated nerves of his affectionate 
mother to such a degree, that before the con¬ 
tradiction of the report could minister the balm 
of consolation to her spirit, it had sought relief 
from sorrow in another and a belter world. 

Our venerable sovereign was very sensibly 
affected by the narrative of this extraordinary 
circumstance; and so strong was the impression 
of it upon his memory, that when our hero was 
afterwards presented at the levee, as Lieutenant- 
Colonel Gillespie, the king instantly surveyed 
his comparatively diminutive stature with an ex¬ 
pression of benignant surprise, and said, “ What, 
Can it be possible that this little man is the per~ 


41 

son who performed so great an exploit in St. 
Domingo ?” 

Of the motives which prompted the mur¬ 
derers* attempt upon the life of this brave officer, 
and generous man, it is difficult to form an 
opinion, since his conduct in that island had 
gained him the general esteem of the colonists, 
and the respect of those to whom he was 
opposed in arms. But it is probable that either- 
the expectation of gain, or resentment, occa¬ 
sioned by his success as a negociator, in securing 
private property from plunder, drew upon the 
major the malevolent notice and sanguinary 
designs of these miscreants. 

When his health was sufficiently restored 
to bear the voyage, he embarked for Jamaica, 
where he resumed the command of his regiment; 
and though unknown, except to military men, 
and unconnected with every person in the island, 
he soon acquired that popularity which rarely 
fails to reward good discipline and suavity of 
manners. The high estimation in which he was 
held by the inhabitants, appears from a message 
sent to the House of Assembly by the lieutenant- 
governor, in the year 1799> and the resolution 
that was adopted in consequence of it, which, 


42 

as extracted from the minutes of the House 
itself, will sufficiently convey the sense enter¬ 
tained of the regiment, and of its commander. 
These documents were as follows: 

' t 

“ Mr. Speaker, 

“ I am commanded by his Honor the 
Lieutenant-Governor, to lay before the House, 
that every regiment of dragoons in the British 
service, the twentieth, or Jamaica regiment of 
light dragoons, excepted, has on itsestablishment 
two lieutenant-colonels. 

“ That it appears to his Honor, that the 
appointment of a second lieutenant-colonel to 
the twentieth light dragoons would be of very 
essential service, as it would at all times secure 
the presence of a field-officer with the regiment. 

“That the commission of first lieutenant-co¬ 
lonel is filled by a general officer on the staff, 
who, consequently, cannot join his regiment. 

“That the regiment being stationary in the 
island, it seems expedient that the establish¬ 
ment of field-officers not be less than that of 
other regiments, who are not exposed to the 
inconvenience of a tropical climate. 

“That his Honor, representing the utility of 


43 

having a second lieutenant-colonel, has much 
pleasure in reflecting, if the House should be 
pleased to be of the same opinion, and to provide 
for the expense accordingly, that the nomination 
may actually fall on Major Gillespie, an officer 
who was promoted in it on its original formation, 
and who has served with distinguished credit 
in various high situations. That the pay necessary 
to be voted for the accomplishment of this 
object, if the House should so approve it, is 
four hundred and forty-seven pounds, two 
shillings, and sixpence, sterling, per annum. 

“ That his Honor, therefore, submits it to the 
consideration of the House.” 

On receiving this communication from the 
governor, it was “ ordered, that the above 
message be referred to the committee of the 
whole House, to inquire into, and take further 
into consideration the state of the island.” 

The result of the inquiry by the committee was 
a resolution framed and recorded in these terms : 

tf That it be recommended to the House to 
send a message-to his Honor the Lieutenant- 
Governor, informing him, that if His Majesty 


44 


shall graciously be pleased to appoint a second 
lieutenant-colonel to the twentieth, or Jamaica 
regiment of light dragoons, the House will pro¬ 
vide for the expenses thereof; and to assure his 
Honor, that the House, being sensible of the care 
and attention of Major Gillespie to the health 
and discipline of the regiment since it has been 
under his command, contemplate with satisfac¬ 
tion the probability that an officer who has 
served with distinguished credit, in various high 
situations, will be advanced to professional 
rank : and that they hope the promotion to take 
place in the twentieth light dragoons may be ex¬ 
tended to the officers of the said regiment, to 
which they are so justly entitled by their long 
services in this island. 14 

Flattering as these testimonies were to the 
professional merits of this excellent officer, the 
pleasure afforded by them was heightened by 
the circumstance, that while the memorial to 
His Majesty, conveying the wishes of the inha¬ 
bitants of Jamaica was on its passage, govern¬ 
ment at home had already made the very appoint¬ 
ment which was requested. On the twenty-first 
of November, 1799, the commission of lieute- 


45 


nant-colonel was granted to Major Gillespie, 
in the room of Major-General Churchill, pro¬ 
moted ; while Major Jones received the ap¬ 
pointment, at the same time, of second lieute¬ 
nant-colonel. 

A few months after this elevation, the late 
Lord Hugh Seymour, admiral and commander- 
in-chief on the West India station, who was 
the particular friend of our hero, offered him 
the military command of Curacoa; but his Ex¬ 
cellency Lord Belcarras, the governor of Ja¬ 
maica, delicately refused his consent to the re¬ 
moval of the colonel, by observing, “ that he 
could not spare him.” About the same time, 
the late General Knox, proceeding on a secret 
expedition, appointed the lieutenant-colonel 
quarler-master-general ; but the satisfaction re¬ 
sulting from this mark of attention, bestowed by 
so good an officer and judge of merit, soon after¬ 
wards received a sad depression in the loss of 
that valuable man by shipwreck. 

On the conclusion of the peace of Amiens 
with the French consular government, the ser¬ 
vices of the colonel and his regiment being no 
longer required in the West Indies, prepara- 


46 

tions were made for their return to Europe : and 
previous to their departure from the island, the 
most honourable marks of distinction were be¬ 
stowed upon them by the local authorities, and 
by those best qualified, from experience, to ap¬ 
preciate the merits of the regiment and its com¬ 
mander. 


House of Assembly. 

December 9, 1801. 

Resolved, 

That the following message be sent to his 
Honor the Lieutenant-Governor. 

May it please your Honor, 

We are ordered by the House to wait on 
your Honor, and to express the high sense they 
entertain of the merits and uniform good con¬ 
duct of Lieutenant-Colonel Gillespie, the offi¬ 
cers, non-commissioned officers, and privates, 
of the twentieth regiment of light dragoons, 
during their long residence in this island. 

Ordered, that Mr. Whitehorne and Mr. 
Hering be a committee to wait on his Honor 


47 


with the above message; who, returning, re¬ 
ported the delivering thereof. 

True extract from the journals, &c. 

(Signed) F. Smith, 

Clerk of the Assembly. 


Spanish Town, December 10, 1801* 

Sir, 

I have the honor to inclose you a vote of the 
House of Assembly passed yesterday, in tes¬ 
timony of your conduct as commanding officer 
of the twentieth light dragoons, which I beg to as¬ 
sure you gives me peculiar pleasure. 

Inclosed also are extracts from the journals of 
the House, respecting the regiment itself, which 
are, no doubt, equally acceptable to you. 

I am, Sir, 

Your very obedient servant, 
(Signed) F. Smith, 

Clerk of the Assembly. 

Lieutenant-Colonel Gillespie. 


King’s House, June 16, 1802. 


Sir, 

I take great pleasure in transmitting to you a 
message which I have received from the House 


48 

of Assembly, expressing sentiments of the good 
conduct of the twentieth light dragoons, under 
your command, which do great honour to the 
corps, and which I request that you will com¬ 
municate to them. 

I am, Sir, 

With sincere regard, 

Your faithful, 

And obedient servant, 
(Signed) G. Nugent. 
Lieutenant-Colonel Gillespie . 

( Co py) 

Message of the House of Assembly at Ja¬ 
maica, to the Lieutenant-Governor. 

December 9, 1801. 

May it please your Honor, 

We are ordered by the House to wait on 
your Honor, and to express the high sense they 
entertain of the merits and uniform good con¬ 
duct of Lieutenant-Colonel Gillespie, the of¬ 
ficers, non-commissioned officers, and privates, 
of the twentieth regiment of light dragoons, 
during their long residence in this island. 


49 

House of Assembly. 

December 9, 1801. 

Resolved, nemine contradicenle , 

That the Receiver-General be authorised to 
pay to the order of Lieutenant-Colonel Gillespie 
the sum of one hundred guineas, to be by him 
expended in the purchase of a sword, as a tes¬ 
timony of the highest esteem with which his 
conduct is regarded by the House. 

True extract from the journals. 

F. Smith, Clerk of the Assembly. 

It may be proper also to insert in this place 
the declaration of Major-General Edward 
Churchill, who,, as having been the Colonel of the 
twentieth regiment of light dragoons, before the 
alteration which took place in the appointment 
of Lieutenant-Colonel Gillespie, must have been 
fully acquainted with the professional merits and 
private excellencies of the person to whom he 
bore this honourable testimony : 

“ I first of all knew Lieutenant-Colonel 
Gillespie in the island of St. Domingo, and af¬ 
terwards in Jamaica, for seven years, during 
the whole of which time, a more active, brave, 


K 


50 


and generous officer, 1 never bad the honour to 
command. In St. Domingo, before he came 
under my command, he acted as Adjutant-Ge¬ 
neral, during which time he gave the most 
convincing proofs of his bravery, by volunteer¬ 
ing to take the command of the attack of at 
least two forts, which he stormed and took. 
Afterwards, in Jamaica, as it was my duty, I 
reviewed his regiment twice, and had no fault 
to find ; but, on the contrary, every thing was 
perfect. I likewise visited the hospital, which 
was in a most perfect state. Every part of the 
discipline of the regiment was most studiously 
carried on. Ilis general character, throughout 
the whole island, was universally good.” 

Such was the judgment formed of the value 
pf this gallant and active officer, by one who 
had the best means of ascertaining it correctly ; 
and in this estimate of the wwth of the colonel, 
all who were competent from personal obser¬ 
vation to deliver an opinion, most decidedly 
concurred. But “ envy will merit as its shade 
pursue,” and, from this tax upon human virtue, 
the subject of the present memoir could not 
look to be exempted. He might, however. 


51 

have safely defied malice itself to allege any 
thing against his official conduct; and, yet so 
strangely are some minds constituted, as to 
fasten with venemous fangs upon that part of a 
character which is most pure and irreproachable. 
This happened to be the case with Colonel 
Gillespie, at the close of his long and laborious 
services in the West Indies. In the month of 
August, 1800, Major Allen Cameron came from 
England to join the regiment; but, during the 
nine months of his residence on the island, he 
did duty only between two and three months, 
being the rest of the time either absent on leave, 
or returned as sick. That a person so little in¬ 
formed with respect to the economy of a regi¬ 
ment, locally constructed and maintained as that 
was to which he belonged, should have made 
ii his immediate business to act the part of an 
informer against his commanding officer, indi¬ 
cated a disposition little accordant with the 
high principles which ought to animate every 
member of the military profession. Instead, 
however, of studying his own duties, and de¬ 
voting himself with becoming zeal and atten¬ 
tion to the discharge of it, in a liberal co-opera- 
E 2 


lion with his associates, the major, even by the 
statement which he afterwards publicly made, 
took the first opportunity that offered of sowing 
dissention in the regiment, by exciting sus¬ 
picions of malversation in the conduct of hi$ 
superior. But, as the envious are sometimes 
too cunning for themselves, and are apt, by 
shooting beyond the mark, to bring their own 
motives and actions under inspection, so it was 
in the present instance. 

The major, who was fresh from England, did 
not wait long enough to become thoroughly 
acquainted with the anomalous constitution 

9 

of the corps in which he served, before he 
ventured to insinuate that there was any thing 
wrong in its mechanism or direction ; but of his 
own motion, at the very outset, resolved to dis¬ 
cover, if possible, some matter which might 
be moulded into a serious charge, that, by 
supplanting another, he might elevate himself. 
It is impossible to account for his temerity 
on any other ground: and it is established, 
beyond question, by his return to England, 
where, immediately on his arrival, he laid his 
complaints on the subject of the bad state of 


53 


the regiment, and corrupt practices in its govern¬ 
ment, before the colonel, Lord Heathfield. 
But not meeting with the willing ear and 
encouragement that he expected, the major 
returned again to Jamaica; and such was his 
candour, that immediately on his arrival, he 
communicated his accusations to General 
Nugent, the commander-in-chief. Here, also, 
he experienced that repulse of dignified silence 
which ought to have produced cool and 
serious reflection; but instead of reviewing, 
with strictness, his own conduct, and examining 
with candour that-of the man whom he was 
endeavouring to ruin, he repeated his charge, 
in a second letter, to his excellency General 
Nugent, who paid the same respect to it that 
he had done to the former. The contempt 
thus cast upon his allegations in a quarter 
where they could be best appreciated, and 
where, if plausible, they could at once have 
produced a rigid investigation, might have 
taught the informer a lesson of caution. In¬ 
stead of this, he continued his enquiries by 
letters, and otherwise courting intelligence from 
various persons, that the same might be turned 


54 

to the disadvantage of the Lieutenant-Co¬ 
lonel, and the furtherance of his own views. 
As these insidious attempts to undermine his 
reputation could not be concealed from the 
former, and as some parts of the major’s con¬ 
duct in the business were subversive of all 
discipline, the latter in his turn was made the 
object of a prosecution on the charges of sedi¬ 
tion and mutiny. Though acquitted by the 
general court-martial of the matter in charge, 
enough appeared to call for reprehension in 
having written an imprudent letter against his 
commanding officer to the paymaster of the 
regiment. Thus the harmony which had 
prevailed so long in the corps as to render it 
a model of imitation, was broken by the unjust 
ambition and meddling spirit of an individual 
who had never shared any of its toil or danger. 

In the autumn of 1S02 the colonel landed 
with his regiment, consisting of three hundred 
effective men, at Portsmouth ; and, after a 
minute inspection by the general who com¬ 
manded in that district, the condition of the 
corps was reported to His Royal Highness the 
Duke of York as being in the highest state of 


55 

order and discipline. This honourable attes¬ 
tation was accompanied by a particular compli¬ 
ment to thecommander, on the very extraordinary 
circumstance of having brought his regiment 
to Europe, not only strong in number, but in 
perfect health, after a long and arduous service 
in an unfavourable climate. Such a testimony, 
which, at any time, must have been gratifying 
to the feelings of an officer, on returning to his 
native land, could not but be peculiarly con¬ 
solatory in the present instance, wounded as 
those feelings were by the insidious arts and 
repeated calumnies of a disappointed but rest¬ 
less enemy. The gratitude of the inhabitants 
of Jamaica, the approbation of the commander- 
in-chief on that island, and the admiration 
produced by the appearance of the regiment 
after a long voyage, and undergoing much 
severe service, altogether formed a decisive 
confutation of that slander, which nothing but 
ignorance could have imagined or malevolence 
have uttered. But the triumph which the cause 
of truth obtained in these public marks of dis¬ 
tinction from authorities most competent to 
form a correct judgment, and too elevated as 


56 

well as unconnected to bestow gratuitous 
praise without a conviction of its being merited, 
could neither repress the spirit of envy, nor 
frustrate its machinations. 

The same unjustifiable enmity, carried on in 
the same dark and undermining manner, follow¬ 
ed the colonel to England, where the most 
studied arts were employed to prejudice him in 
the opinion of those with whom it was his 
natural wish to stand as unsullied as he did 
in his own upright mind. It was impossible 
that these aspersions could be altogether con¬ 
cealed from his knowledge, and therefore, with 
that lively sensibility which conscious integrity 
ever manifests under the slightest imputation 
of wrong, the colonel was most anxious to 
submit his conduct to public investigation. 
But the more he sought inquiry, the more was 
he mortified, in finding, that while attempts 
were made to lower him in the estimation of the 
service, without any just cause, still, every art 
and contrivance were adopted by delay to pre¬ 
vent him from clearing his character before a 
competent tribunal. The obvious course which 
the love of justice would have dictated in such a 


57 


case was that of preferring specific grounds of 
complaint against the accused party to the com¬ 
mander-in-chief, immediately on the arrival of 
the regiment from Jamaica, and when the busi¬ 
ness might have been examined with the least diffi¬ 
culty, in regard to expense and evidence. Instead 
of this, while defamation continued its work, to 
the injury of the lieutenant-colonel in his circum¬ 
stances, and more so of his peace of mind, he 
was compelled to endure two years of anxious 
suspense before a court-martial was appointed 
to decide upon the allegations that had been ex¬ 
hibited with so much industry to his disad¬ 
vantage. At length the warrant for a court- 
martial to be held was signed on the second of 
June, 1804, and on the twenty-ninth of the same 
month the proceedings commenced at Col¬ 
chester, before the following officers. 

PRESIDENT, 

The Hon. Major-General John Hope. 

Major-General Henry Lord Paget. 

Brigadier-General John Robinson. 

Colonel John Slade, 1st or Royal Dragoons. 
Lieutenant-Colonel James Stewart, 2nd Battalion 42nd 

Regiment. 



58 

Lieutenant-Colonel John Walhouse, 7th Light Dra¬ 
goons 

Lieutenant-Colonel Charles Cerjet, 1st or Royal 
Dragoons 

Lieutenant-Colonel Robert Campbell, 1st Battalion 
42nd Regiment. 

Major John Gordon, 1st Battalion 92nd Regiment. 
Major John Cameron, 1st Battalion 92nd Regiment. 
Major Lawrence Henry Newton, Royal Artillery. 

Major Richard Hussey Vivian, 7th Light Dragoons. 
Major Edward Kerrison, 7th Light Dragoons. 

Major John Farquharson, 1st Battalion 42nd Regiment. 
Major Amos Godsil Norcott, 95th Regiment. 

Captain Archibald Morrison, West Norfolk Militia, 
Deputy Judge Advocate* 

His Majesty’s warrant being read, the charge 
exhibited against the prisoner, and to which 
he pleaded not guilty, was read as follows: 

“ Issuing false returns in the island of 
Jamaica, when he, Lieutenant-Colonel Robert 
Rollo Gillespie commanded the twentieth 
regiment of light dragoons, and thereby obtain¬ 
ing monthly, for the following period, viz. 
from the twenty-fifth day of November, 1800 , 
to the twenty-fourth day of October, 1801 , 


59 

both days inclusive, allowances for men stated 
to belong to the said regiment, then under his 
command, beyond the effective strength thereof 
in the said island; and likewise obtaining, from 
the twenty-fifth day of November, 1800 , to the 
twenty-fifth day of December, 1801 , inclusive, 
allowances for commissioned and non-com¬ 
missioned officers and quarter-masters belong¬ 
ing to the said regiment, then under his com¬ 
mand, beyond the allowances they were en¬ 
titled to receive for the above period.” 

This charge having been stated, Major Allen 
Cameron, the prosecutor, entered, at great 
length, into the grounds of his original 
suspicion, the steps which he took in conse- 
qence of it, and the correspondence that had 
taken place between himself and the high 
military authorities whose province it was to 
institute an inquiry on the subject. 

In the course of his speech, the prosecutor en¬ 
deavoured to impress upon the court a persuasion 
that he was reluctantly compelled to appear as 
the accuser of his superior officer, by the express 
commands of His Royal Highness the Com¬ 
mander-in-chief.” But whatever unwillingness 


6o 


the major might have felt in the latter stage of the 
business, to proceed in the public investigation of 
the charges which he had so long circulated 
against the lieutenant-colonel, it was evident, from 
the very documents which were produced, that 
the only command imposed upon him was to sub¬ 
stantiate what he had advanced, or to abide the 
consequences. After having for so long a period, 
and in various ways, endeavoured to destroy the 
reputation of another officer, it was not to been* 
dured that he should be suffered to let the 
matter drop, and thus prevent the accused party 
from obtaining strict and impartial justice. The 
compulsion, therefore, which the prosecutor al¬ 
leged as an apology for his coming forward in 
that character, was the reverse of a distinction 
conferred in the way of sanction of his conduct; 
neither could it be considered as implying any 
thing to the disadvantage of the colonel. 

The whole was intended to enable the Jatter to 
repel, in the most public and explicit manner, 
the allegations which had been so industriously 
and repeatedly circulated to his injury, both in 
Jamaica and in England; while, at the same 
time, with an equal regard to justice, this re* 


61 


quisition was calculated to give the prosecutor 
every opportunity of making good what he had 
so peremptorily maintained. The court sat, by 
adjournments, from Friday, June the twenty- 
ninth, to the seventeenth of July; and, at the 
several sittings, a number of witnesses belonging 
to the regiment were examined, and the ac¬ 
counts thereof particularly investigated ; from 
all of which, as well as from the testimony of 
various officers who had served in Jamaica, it 
appeared, to the satisfaction of the court, that 
the matters averred to have been wrong were 
not only warranted by the usage of the service 
in that quarter, but were necessary to the benefit 
of that particular corps, and humanely adopted 
for the comfort of the sick. It was proved, beyond 
contradiction, that the regiment was in the best 
regulated state while in that island, and this 
was moreover shewn to have arisen from the 
personal attentions of its commander there; and, 
among other particulars, to the very liberal al¬ 
lowances which were at the present time ad¬ 
duced as grounds of accusation against him. 
Colonel Jones, who had been major of the regi¬ 
ment previous to the prosecutor, and who, 


62 

therefore, was perfectly competent to judge of 
the manner in which it was conducted, made 
this open declaration : u To the best of my 
judgment, as an officer, I always conceived the 
duty of the twentieth light dragoons carried on 
in a most correct manner ; and Lieutenant-Co¬ 
lonel Gillespie, under whom I had the honor to 
serve, I always found, in his situation as com¬ 
manding officer, a most zealous, persevering 
person, in whatever concerned the good of His 
Majesty's service, and the regiment under his 
command. Indeed, it appeared to me that he 
made it his utmost study to pay every attention 
to the welfare of the men, in a country where 
the badness of the climate required it so much*’* 

Lieutenant-Colonel Brisbane, then of the 
sixty-ninth regiment, who had served several 
years in the West Indies, gave this testimony 
of what he had observed in the conduct of 
the twentieth light dragoons : 

“ I have seen them with great pleasure and 
satisfaction, as their interior economy far sur¬ 
passed any thing I had seen in the West Indies : 

I therefore derived much local information from 
them. Having resided there so long, I had the 


63 


greater opportunity of observing them, as, i 
may say, we both occupied one barrack. The 
twentieth dragoons had the rooms above, and 
we below.” With respect to the management 
of the hospital, and the treatment of the sick in 
the same regiment, the same officer gave this 
honourable testimony: 

I had frequently an opportunity of observing 
the hospital, having been frequently in it my¬ 
self, and I never saw an hospital in such perfect 
good order: with respect to the convalescents, 
I have seen every attention paid to them, by 
their being sent to the most healthy situations 
that could be discovered in the neighbourhood 
of Spanish Town. I have seen as far as six or 
seven living at Colonel Gillespie’s house for 
change of air ; and I conceive a change of air in 
that country, for a convalescent, every thing.” 

General Coote Manningham, being questioned 
by Colonel Gillespie as follows: “ Having had 
the honour of serving on the staff with you, when 
adjutant-general in St. Domingo, I request you 
may have the goodness to inform the court 
what your opinion was in respect to me,” re¬ 
plied in these words : “ Lieutenant-Colonel 


64 


Gillespie was brigade-major to General Wilford, 
at the time I was adjutant-general to the forces 
in St. Domingo. I always looked upon him as 
an active, zealous officer, most strongly affected 
to the good of His Majesty’s service ; and, as 
spoken of by all the army, at the time I was in 
St Domingo, as an officer of uncommon gal¬ 
lantry.” To the same effect was the testimony 
of Brigadier-General Stewart, of the ninety-fifth 
regiment, who had served with the colonel in 
St. Domingo : but what ought to be regarded 
as the proudest trophy in the triumph which 
the character of the latter gained at this affecting 
period, was the evidence of those who served 
under him, at the very time when the alleged 
extravagance or peculation was said to have 
occurred, in regard to the allowances for the 
hospital and the sick. The quarter-master being 
asked whether, when particular things were 
scarce in the island, they were not supplied 
from the house of the colonel, replied in the 
affirmative; adding, “ I further know, that 
Lieutenant-Colonel Gillespie acted to the sol¬ 
diers under his command like a tender parent 
to his children.” Mr. Walker, surgeon of the 


65 

thirty-ninth regiment, who had been assistant 
surgeon to the twentieth light dragoons, during 
the periods of the charge, bore this evidence to 
the management of the hospital : 

“ The utmost economy was observed, con* 
sistent with the welfare of the sick men. The 
surgeon on visiting the hospital in the morning 
filled up the diet table, and pointed out the 
things he supposed necessary, which things 
were procured by the purveyor. The hospital 
book was made up weekly, and inspected by 
the surgeon, and if found correct, was signed 
by him, and sent to the commanding officer for 
his inspection : it also underwent the inspec¬ 
tion of the surgeon of the forces once a-month/* 
This gentleman farther observed, in answer to a 
question whether the regiment was not more 
liberally supplied than any other in that quarter, 
that cc he believed it was so, since he observed, 
at his first arrival, a material difference between 
the hospital of the twentieth light dragoons and 
any other he had attended ; adding, also, that 
the circumstance charged against the colonel, 
of permitting the regiment to draw allowances 
as they were wanted, was of the greatest 
. ' /F 


66 

benefit, and that many lives were preserved by 
their being so liberally supplied with comforts 
necessary to their situation.'” In this opinion, 
both with respect to the economy of the regi¬ 
ment, and the excellence of its commander, he 
was supported by the testimony of the surgeon 
of the sixty-ninth regiment, who, being inter¬ 
rogated, whether he had an opportunity of ob¬ 
serving the manner in which the hospital of the 
twentieth light dragoons was conducted, replied : 
“ I had. The hospital was conducted in as 
proper a manner as I have seen in the island 
of Jamaica, or any part of the West Indies 
that I have been in, and the sick attended to 
with as much humanity as possible. The sur¬ 
geon of the twentieth light dragoons had the 
unlimited power of giving any necessary article 
for their comfort: they likewise gave stock , a 
wine, that was rather dear in that country, and 
which was not generally adopted by other hos¬ 
pitals in that island.” Thus it was proved by 
the strongest of all evidence, that the allowances 
for the sick, which were alleged to have ex¬ 
ceeded the regulations of the service, and to 
have been misapplied, resulted from the most 


67 

exalted motives, and were directed for the best 
of purposes. 

On such a foundation alone the defence 
might have rested, for it was the one laid down 
by the prosecutor himself, who, in bringing this 
charge, prepared an arena for the display, not 
only of the innocence, but the humanity of the 
accused. The latter, however, very properly 
conceived it to be his duty, as evil reports had 
been so busily circulated, for the purpose of 
staining his moral character, to lay before the 
court letters from various officers of the highest 
rank and reputation, who were well acquainted 
with his deportment. These interesting docu¬ 
ments are of so much value in themselves, and 
do so much honour to the writers, as well as 
to the person in whose favour they were com¬ 
posed, that it would be improper to omit them 
in the present memoir. 

My dear Gillespie, 

I feel very sincere grief at the very unpleasant 
and disagreeable situation in which you are at 
present placed ; for though I am thoroughly 
f 2 


68 


convinced you possess all the qualities neces¬ 
sary to constitute an officer and a gentleman ; 
yet, I find by your letter that you have not 
escaped unmerited censure. I mean to go to 
London shortly ; but I fear I shall not arrive 
time enough to bear personal testimony of the 
high opinion I entertain of you ; for I can of 
truth assert, that when you left the carabineers 
you were a gentleman of most unblemished re¬ 
putation ; and, since that period, I never heard 
any thing to your disadvantage; on the con¬ 
trary, many officers of high rank, who served 
with you, bestowed great praises on your cou¬ 
rage and good conduct; and I can safely say, 
that you were loved, esteemed, and respected, 
by all the officers of the carabineers under my 
command. 

I am, 

With great regard and esteem, 

Your very faithful friend and servant, 
Arthur Ormsby, 

Lieutenant-Colonel, Carabineers* 
and Major-General* 


Dublin, April 18, 1804. 


69 


Exeter, June 28, 1804. 

Sir, 

I had written to you before I was favoured 
with your last letter ; but, lest my letter should 
miscarry, I have great pleasure in assuring you 
that I should certainly have complied with your 
request, did not my public avocations prevent 
me, and attended in person at the general court- 
martial, for the purpose of stating the high esti¬ 
mation I held you, both as a gentleman, and as 
a gallant and most zealous officer, during my 
command in St. Domingo; and, that had I re¬ 
turned thither, it was my intention to have em¬ 
ployed you in the most confidential manner. 

I am, with great truth, 

Your very faithful servant, 

J. G. Simco, 

Lieutenant-General. 

Dear Gillespie, 

On my return from an excursion in attending 
His Royal Highness the Prince of Wales, 1 was 
favoured with your’s of the eighth of September, 
and am sorry to learn you are likely to be 


70 

troubled, from so base motives, with a court- 
martial. I can with much truth assert, that in 
vigilance, activity, and conduct, none in the 
army under my command exceeded you. I ap¬ 
pointed you deputy adjutant-general; and, on 
every occasion, where gallantry and the good 
officer was wanted, I rested secure in the proper 
execution of the enterprize. I valued you much 
as an officer, and esteemed you as a gentleman 
and friend; and shall beat all times happy in 
giving you that support your conduct and be¬ 
haviour so well entitle you to from me and all 
your friends; and request you will believe me, 
with esteem and respect, 

Your’s, very faithfully, 

John Whyte. 

Walburton House, Arundel, 

September 17, 1803. 


Falmouth, June 23, 1804. 

My dear Gillespie, 

I congratulate you on the prospect of a 
speedy termination of your most uncomfortable 
suspense; and assure you, I should with plea¬ 
sure have attended in person at Colchester, had 
not both duty and ill health placed insuperable 


71 

obstacles in the way. I hope and trust, how¬ 
ever, what I now write will be received as the 
genuine sentiments 1 have entertained of you 
invariably, since the first commencement of our 
acquaintance; and I cannot but think, twenty 
years experience of your character entitles me 
to attention, when I speak of you, not only as 
an officer, but as a man. 

Your present situation will excuse my taking 
a method, under other circumstances, certainly 
objectionable; I mean that of addressing to 
yourself sentiments that might, with more de¬ 
licacy, have been communicated through the 
medium of a third person : in the present in¬ 
stance, however, I doubt much how far such a 
testimony would be admissible; and, indeed, it 
is only from a conviction of the candour and in¬ 
dulgence usual in general courts-martial, I can 
expect a favourable reception of what is now of¬ 
fered, and which you could obtain in no other 
way. 

I can with truth affirm that Lieutenant- 
Colonel Gillespie’s character, as an officer, has 
been invariably brave, enterprizing, active, and 
indefatigable. His first introduction into the 


72 

service placed him under my command, in the 
year 1783, and on every occasion since, where 
we have met on service together, I have had the 
strongest reason to applaud his conduct, and 
acknowledge the value of that assistance he has 
constantly afforded me, in situations both ot 
difficulty and danger. It is with sincere plea¬ 
sure I speak of him as a member of society, 
having ever found him honourable, just, of dis¬ 
position the most conciliatory, and manners, in 
every respect, perfectly consistent with the cha¬ 
racter of a man of honour and a gentleman. 

R. R. WlLFORD, 
Major-General. 

With every good wish for a happy termina¬ 
tion to this unpleasant business, allow me to 
subscribe myself, 

My dear Gillespie, 

Most truly and faithfully, 

Your’s, 

R. R. WlLFORD* 

To destroy most effectually the whole of the 
charges, which were brought forward on the 
presumption that the affairs of the regiment 


73 

had been wilfully abused in Jamaica, by the 
connivance and with the sanction of the lieu- 
tenant-colonel, his Excellency Lord Belcarras, 
the governor of that island, was called, who 
produced the messages and votes of the House 
of Assembly, as decisive of the fact that the 
matters in complaint were both known and ap¬ 
proved of by his lordship, and that respect¬ 
able body. Lord Belcarras was also pleased 
to say, at the close of his evidence, “ the twen¬ 
tieth regiment was in a high state of discipline, 
and their internal economy was extremely 
good, whilst under the command of Lieu¬ 
tenant-Colonel Gillespie/* 

The defence itself was couched in that firm, 
dignified, and perspicuous language, which is 
expressive of conscious integrity ; and, like 
the lion that shakes the droppings of the passing 
cloud from his mane, the colonel thus ad¬ 
dressed himself to the court: “After nearly 
two years of the most painful anxiety, I have, 
thank God! arrived at the moment of relief: 
and though it is not usual for a person accused 
to assume the tone of triumph, yet surely the 


74 

hour of explanation must, to an innocent man, 
be deemed the hour of victory. 

“ The danger of delay was never more depre¬ 
cated by him who waited for reward, than it has 
been by me who panted for my deliverance 
from charges as foul as I shall prove they are 
malicious and unfounded. I say malicious, 
because they originated in the personal re¬ 
venge of one who sought the safest way of 
gratifying it.” 

After touching, indignantly, on the plea of the 
prosecutor, that this office had been imposed 
upon him by the commander-in-chief, the co¬ 
lonel produced, as a complete refutation of that 
assertion, the following letter. 

Horse-Guards, 22nd June, 1804, 

Sir, 

In reply to your letter of the twentieth 
instant, I have authority to say, that, in conse¬ 
quence of the charges voluntarily preferred 
against you by Major Cameron, his Royal 
Highness the Commander-in-chief has judged it 
necessary to order the same to be investigated 


75 

by a general court-martial, before which his 
Royal Highness expects the major will make 
good his accusation, or abide by the conse¬ 
quences of traducing his commanding officer. 

I have the honour to be. 

Sir, 

Your most humble Servant, 

W. Wynyard. 

Deputy Adjutant-General. 


Having observed that this letter was the best 
answer to the bold and unqualified assertion 
of the accuser, 6 that the prosecution, on his 
part, was not a matter of choice, but compul¬ 
sion/ the colonel proceeded in these terms: 
“ I shall carefully pass over all observations on 
the court-martial held on Major Cameron, by 
which he was sentenced to six months sus¬ 
pension, because the court has decided they 
cannot entertain the subject. It is enough for 
me that the prosecutor assigns it as a subject of 
recrimination/ although that rather shakes 
the sincerity of ascribing ‘ the good of the 
service, as the motive of this prosecution / but 
this he acutely accounts for, by allowing that 


76 

* supposed personal injury may blind the 
judgment, and create prejudice.* 

“ My defence, however, shall not depend 
on the rancour of my prosecutor, but on my 
own innocence, to establish which I now 
proceed. In endeavouring to follow the evi¬ 
dence, I cannot but complain that it devolves 
on a prisoner to elucidate the charges against 
him, and I really feel I have more to atchieve 
in clearing away the trash under which the 
facts alleged against me are hidden, than to 
answer those facts themselves. To obviate, 
as much as possible, this loss of time, and 
additional trouble, the court will do me the 
justice to recollect, that in most of the in¬ 
stances alluded to I was ready to admit the 
facts, subject to such explanation as I might 
think it right to resort to in my defence; but 
this was rejected by the prosecutor, unless 
accompanied with an acknowledgment of 
guilt, from which I declare I am free; indeed, 
I could not conceive the gratification of com¬ 
pelling the court to sit for seven days out of 
nine, calculating the amount of the sums 
asserted to have been improperly received. 


77 

that they might (in the prosecutor’s phrase^ 
* enter the falsities in round numbers/ This 
trouble was, as I conceive, unnecessary, if the 
measure was justifiable; and if unjustifiable, 
the crime was little enhanced by the amount: 
nay, so indefatigable was he in the waste of 
time, that Lieutenant Card was called in, I 
know not how often, to prove my hand-writing 
to returns which I acknowledged : but it was 
auxiliary to the main object, which was not 
so much to prove the substance of the charge, 
as to discover subjects, which, from want of 
immediate explanation, might be tortured into 
additional crimes. 

“ Before I enter into the detail of my defence, 
I will take the liberty of stating to the court, 
with whom I can have no reserve, the prin* 
ciples on which I have acted, as they will best 
account for the means I have ever pursued. 
The common and municipal laws of this 
country, so avowedly calculated for the protec¬ 
tion of persons and property, I suppose from the 
nature and spirit of them, and the consider¬ 
ation of the variety of persons concerned in the 
judgment and exercise of them, makes it neces- 


78 

sary that the very letter should become a part of 
the law itself. 

ct Persons in the military profession are equally 
amenable to the laws of the country with all 
other subjects; but the laws sanctioned by the 
king and parliament for the cognizance of mili¬ 
tary offences are in their nature more liberal, 
the grand object being to discover the truth, 
and not in any way to profit by errors, or 
what, in other courts, are called flaws in the 
proceedings. 

“ In the present case, hardly any thing is to be 
discerned of a nature entitled to the cognizance 
of a court-martial; a prosecutor, throughout 
seeking for any thing like crime or error, even 
from what passes in the course of evidence. 
Nothing partaking even of the shadow of bad 
intention has been exhibited to the court, even 
by'the charge itself; but at most, the errors in 
judgment of an officer, in the arduous execution 
of his duty, in the worst of climates, when a 
commanding officer, to deserve that name, 
should shew that he has a mind capable of em¬ 
bracing every honourable means that may occur, 
to keep life and soul together in the troops under 


79 

his command; and to keep his regiment in a 
state of health and discipline, to render them 
equal to the emergencies of any description. 

“ Hundreds of instances may be adduced, of 
regiments, in the shortest possible periods of 
time, having been rendered unserviceable, nay 
worse, having been annihilated, from the want 
of energy and expedient in those at their head; 
and, surely, in such melancholy cases, the coun¬ 
try cannot easily be brought either to admire 
or defend such very prudent conduct. Were I 
speaking to men of less enlightened minds than 
those to whom I have the honour of addressing 
myself, this kind of language might, to such as 
have not served in the West Indies, perhaps 
require more elucidation. But to those that 
have, and at the same time have possessed 
common observation, it must have been clearly 
evident, that to be a good officer in the com¬ 
mand of a regiment in the West Indies, the 
person so circumstanced must possess judg¬ 
ment, humanity, zeal, and expedient: and to 
check an officer possessing all these qualities, 
to gratify the ends of any individual, appears 
to be impolitic, to say the least of it: thousands 


80 


of lives may be saved from the encouragement 
of these qualities; and certainly not so many, 
if the letter, and not the spirit of the law, is to 
become the only criterion by which he is to be 
judged.” 

The incontrovertible force of this reasoning 
could not fail to make a strong impression upon 
all who heard it, contrasted, as it was, with the 
calculating policy manifested throughout the 
prosecution. As it was necessary, however, 
that the minutiae of the evidence should be re¬ 
plied to and explained, the colonel entered into 
this part of his defence with the same candour 
and clearness that distinguished him throughout 
the business. Having gone over all the charges, 
according to the order in which they stood, 
and proved by the highest authorities that in 
every part he had acted by precedent, with the 
approbation of those who had the proper cog¬ 
nizance of his conduct, and conformably to the 
established usages of the island, he thus spoke 
of his own services in that part of the world:— 

“ How I have conducted myself, as far as the 
opinion of those who are most competent to 
decide, has been stated to the court, to which 


81 


I beg leave to add the testimony of those for 
whose service the regiment was raised, and 
under whose observation it continually was. 
In the year 1802, I embarked the regiment in 
perfect health, and accompanied it to England, 
where I landed the men in the state deposed 
to by Major-General Whitelocke, who inspected 
them on their arrival. Thus, after upwards of 
eleven years incessant hard service, during 
which time, except whilst confined by wounds 
in St. Domingo, I have scarcely missed a single 
day’s duty; yet, on my return to my native 
country, after passing the prime of my life in the 
West Indies, I was assailed by these charges, 
and doomed each day, even up to the day of 
my trial, to suffer under the most opprobrious 
misrepresentations. It has often been asked, 
during the course of the trial, whether there 
was any thing in the establishment of the twen¬ 
tieth light dragoons different from that of other 
regiments. It has been properly answered. 

“ The regiment was different not only from 
others in the West Indies, but from every one 
in Jamaica: it was paid by the island exclu¬ 
sively, and all the allowances to it were settled 

G 


82 


and allowed by them only. They had a right 
to allow or refuse whatever they pleased ; and 
therefore, after a final arrangement and dis¬ 
charge with the proper Board there, I might 
perhaps have fairly declined the inquiry of any 
other tribunal; but this is not consistent with 
my feelings, and for that reason I admitted as 
evidence those copies produced by the pro¬ 
secutor, without which this trial could not have 
taken place in this country. Let all who hear 
me ask their own hearts if this is the symptom 
of a guilty mind. On the testimonies to the ge¬ 
neral character I have received, it would ill be¬ 
come me to remark : I would apologize for pro¬ 
ducing them, did I not know how jealous every 
officer is of his character. To be unimpeached 
through a life of service is no dishonourable tes¬ 
timony, and therefore I shall be excused in 
adding some additional ones, and in calling the 
attention of the Court to a vote of the House 
of Assembly in the year 1799> bespeaking their 
opinion of me, and to lay on the table a letter 
I received from his Excellency General Nu¬ 
gent, inclosing another vote of thanks to the 
regiment, and a presentation to me of a sword* 


83 


in token of their approbation on our leaving the 
island. It might be thought I did not set a 
sufficient value on these testimonies, if I did 
not produce them ; I therefore lay them on the 
table, and request they may be entered on the 
.minutes;” 

The Court having ordered these documents, 
and the letters of testimonial to the excellent 
character of the colonel, to be entered in the 
proceedings, the latter concluded his defence 
in these words :— 

“ I would venture to ask every individual 
member of this honourable Court, whether any 
command, to which his talents may entitle him, 
however flattering it may be, would be accept¬ 
able, if left open to such attacks as this I have 
most feelingly experienced. Whether I have 
deserved it, will be the subject of your judg¬ 
ment. In your hands I confide my honour, and 
whatever may be your decision, well knowing 
the principles on which it will be founded, to 
that decision I most cheerfully submit.” 

The Court, after hearing the prosecutor in 
his reply, of which in this place nothing more 
need to be said than that it was framed in the 
g 2 


84 


same spirit of hostility which originated the 
accusation, adjourned to Tuesday the seven¬ 
teenth of July, and then delivered the following 
sentence:— 

“ The court-martial having duly weighed the 
evidence given in support of the charge preferred 
against the prisoner, Lieutenant Colonel Robert 
Rollo Gillespie, of the twentieth (or Jamaica) 
regiment of light dragoons, with that which he 
has adduced in his defence, is of opinion that 
he is Not Guilty of the charge preferred 
against him, and doth therefore most honour¬ 
ably acquit him, inasmuch as he appears to 
have acted entirely for the good of the service, 
from long established custom, and in the in¬ 
stance of the regiment which he commanded, 
with the sanction of the commander of the island, 
and of the states thereof.” 

John Hope, M. G. 

President. 

Archibald Morrison, 
Deputy Judge-Advocate. 

As in all the vicissitudes of life there is a 
mixture of good, which preponderates in the 
end over evil, so this ordeal, though painfully 


85 

acute to a mind attuned to the finest feelings, 
was eventually beneficial, in making more ge¬ 
nerally known the high character of this brave 
officer, and bringing his extraordinary case 
under the particular observation of government, 
by whom his merits, and the hardships which 
he had endured, were duly appreciated in the 
dismissal of his accuser from the service. Re¬ 
sentment, however, was never suffered to gain 
such an ascendency in the mind of the colonel, 
as to derive a satisfaction from the errors and mis¬ 
fortunes of others ; and how remote he was from 
a vindictive disposition, appeared afterwards at 
Madras, where the brother of his prosecutor, the 
late Captain Cameron, of the East India Com¬ 
pany’s ship the Lady Jane Gordon, eagerly solicit¬ 
ed his friendship, and obtained it; the one being 
as desirous of making an atonement for the wrong 
inflicted by his relative, as the other was of 
evincing his inclination to cast over it the 
mantle of oblivion. 

Still the suffering produced by such a state 
of tedious suspense, under the pressure of 
charges that were equally cruel and unjust* 
could not be healed at once: and it is not to 


86 

be wondered that a spirit, naturally active and 
ardent, should seek relief from painful remem¬ 
brances and distressing circumstances in a dis¬ 
tant region. 

That trouble never comes with a single hand, 
was completely proved in the present instance; 
for though incapable of committing an inten¬ 
tional wrong to others, the colonel unfortu¬ 
nately fell into difficulties at this period, through 
the generosity of his temper, and owing to his 
want of prudence, in placing confidence in per¬ 
sons of whose honour he entertained no doubt, 
but who cruelly abused the trust placed in their 
integrity. In consequence of these embarrass¬ 
ments, he made an exchange, on the seventh of 
May, 1805, with Sir Robert Wilson, of the 
nineteenth light dragoons, which regiment being 
then in India, he resolved to proceed thither 
over land. Accordingly, in the following 
month, he left England, and went to Hamburgh, 
where he was under the necessity of putting on 
a disguise, to avoid the observation of the 
French, who were then in considerable force at 
Harburgh, on the opposite side of the Elbe, 
and from whence they were enabled to keep 


87 

Hamburgh completely under their inspection 
and controul. In what manner they exercised 
their power at this time, appeared from the out¬ 
rage of seizing our minister, Sir George Rum- 
bold, and carrying him to France, in defiance 
of the law of nations. While at Hamburgh, the 
colonel went one night to the theatre, where he 
was accosted by a man closely muffled up in a 
great coat, with whom he entered into conver¬ 
sation, and found that he was his countryman. 
This person proved to be no other than Napper 
Tandy; and though the political principles of 
that celebrated character were completely at va¬ 
riance with those of the colonel, the latter de¬ 
rived from this casual acquaintance the most 
substantial benefit. Being informed by his 
countryman, that his liberty, and perhaps his 
life, was in danger at that place, he immediately 
effected a retreat to Altona, where a commercial 
friend afforded him the means of concealment 
till the search which was made after him by the 
French spies was over. Having thus narrowly 
escaped the misery of captivity at least, if not 
a worse fate, he proceeded to Berlin, and from 
thence to Vienna, by the way of Dresden. 


88 


During his residence at these courts, he had 
frequent occasion to contrast the intriguing ac¬ 
tivity and address of the French diplomatists, 
with the mechanical formality and measured 
precision of the British ministers in those im¬ 
portant situations. This was at the critical mo¬ 
ment, when, by the coalition between Austria 
and Russia against France, nothing was wanting 
but the additional weight of Prussia in the scale, 
and a correspondent energy in the direction of 
the war. Here the superiority of French po¬ 
licy appeared manifest in its influence over the 
councils of the Prussian cabinet, and thereby 
keeping that state neutral, till the hour should 
come, when her hostility might be provoked, 
not only with impunity, but to the advantage of 
her pretended friend and real foe. Another in¬ 
stance of the ascendency of the French faction, 
and its baneful effect on the credulity of nations, 
was observed by the colonel at Vienna, where, 
when thewarwasfoundtobeinevitable, theagents 
of France exerted themselves to the utmost, in 
endeavouring to get General Mack placed at the 
head of the Austrian army. The zeal which was 
evinced to secure that appointment by persons 


89 

who were known to be inclined to the revolu¬ 
tionary state of things, ought to have opened 
the eyes of those who were interested in checking 
its progress; but, notwithstanding the palpable 
folly of entrusting a charge, upon which the fate 
of Europe seemed to depend, into the hands of 
a man who was despised by the whole Austrian 
service, such was the infatuation which pre¬ 
vailed over the councils of the Court of Vienna, 
that Mack obtained the command ; and the re¬ 
mainder of the story may be discovered in the 
surrender of Ulm. Colonel Gillespie made his 
remarks on these passing movements, as he went 
through Germany, and his penetrating mind an¬ 
ticipated most of what followed; in which re¬ 
spect, his sentiments coincided, though unknown 
to himself, with those entertained by the hero 
of another element, to whose professional cha¬ 
racter his own bore a near resemblance; for 
when Nelson became acquainted with Mack, at 
the Court of Naples, he had no hesitation in 
pronouncing him a very contemptible general, 
from whose imbecility the worst consequences 
were to be apprehended. 

On leaving Vieqna, Colonel Gillespie pursued 


90 


his course through Austrian Poland, and near 
Lemberg, or Leopolis, in Gallicia, he had the sa¬ 
tisfaction of meeting the grand Austro-Russian 
army : but this pleasure was somewhat damped 
bv an occurrence, which, at another time, would 
not have produced the slightest concern in his 
generous mind. While his cabriolet drew up 
on the side of the road to let the troops pass, 
an illustrious personage being attracted by the 
colonel's arms, and two fowling-pieces which 
were in the carriage, stopped to examine them. 
Having paid minute attention to them, he was 
pleased to express himself in very gracious terms 
of admiration, but particularly with one of the 
guns, which, without any ceremony, he handed 
quietly over to an orderly, who rode off with it 
instantly. The colonel in vain cried out that he 
was an English officer, engaged in a long and dan¬ 
gerous journey, which rendered the arms that he 
had provided indispensably necessary to his safety; 
but in spite of all that he could urge, the piece 
was retained as lawful prize, nor was any apology 
or reason offered to our countryman for the de¬ 
tention. 

The colonel in his journey through Servia had 


91 

an interview with the celebrated chief, Zerner 
George, who treated him in a hospitable manner: 
but on his passage across the Euxine, he and 
his servant, with a medical gentleman who ac¬ 
companied him to India, had a narrow escape 
from the treachery of the pilot. This fellow, 
instead of shaping his course for Constantinople, 
according to agreement, steered in a direction 
which would have brought the vessel into one 
of the piratical ports on the Asiatic shore of the 
Black Sea. Whether his design in this was to 
sell the passengers for slaves, or to rob and 
murder them, could make little’~difference, the 
one case being almost as bad as the other. For¬ 
tunately, the eye of the colonel was intent upon 
the treacherous manoeuvring of the corsair, 
which begat suspicion ; and as they were ap¬ 
proaching the fatal coast, his judgment con¬ 
vinced him that it was not the port to which he 
was bound. There was no time for consulta¬ 
tion, in such a desperate case; and therefore, 
taking up his double-barrelled gun, he ran 
to the stern, and levelling the piece at the head 
of the steersman, threatened to discharge the 


92 

contents into his head, if he did not instantly 
put the vessel about. This had the desired 
effect, and the colonel continued at the post 
which he had taken, with his piece over the 
man, till they were out of any further appre¬ 
hension of danger. 

Soon after his arrival at Constantinople, he 
experienced another singular adventure. At the 
house where he resided, was a French officer; 
who wishing, probably, to become acquainted 
with the business and distinction of his fellow- 
lodger, gave him an invitation to dinner, which 
the colonel, from an unwillingness to form an in¬ 
timacy with strangers in such a place, thought 
proper to decline. This he did with the 
greatest politeness; notwithstanding which, the 
refusal was felt so offensively by the Frenchman, 
that he could not repress his indignation and ill 
manners, exclaiming, loud enough to be heard as 
he was going up stairs, that “ he should be glad 
to kill an Englishman. 5 * The colonel was not one 
of those who would seek a contest of this sort, 
but the insult was too personal and gross to pass 
unnoticed; so, very coolly, waiting upon this 


93 

man of Courage, he said, “ As it is your wish to 
kill an Englishman, I am come to give you 
that satisfaction, by trying your skill upon me*” 
The offer was too imperative to be evaded; so to 
it they went with their swords ; but the gas¬ 
conading hero was soon wounded and disarmed, 
which, if it did not abate his vanity, taught him 
at least a practical lesson of caution, to avoid 
treating with contempt persons of an unas¬ 
suming appearance. 

On account of the disturbances which then 
rendered travelling dangerous in Turkish Asia, 
the colonel and his servant proceeded by the 
way of Greece for Aleppo, as the nearest 
point from whence they could with safety cross 
the desert; but in their journey, they had a 
very narrow escape with their lives, by falling 
among a party of wandering Arabs. While the 
Europeans were sitting apart by themselves, 
Colonel Gillespie's servant, who, to his general 
knowledge of languages added that of the Arabic, 
discovered, from some whisperings at sup¬ 
per, that a design was forming to murder his 
master for the sake of his arms, to which the 


94 

chief had taken a fancy. Fortunately, however, 
the design was suspended by a sudden com¬ 
plaint, which attacked the chief with such 
violence, that in his agony he made application 
to Colonel Gillespie for relief, it being a com¬ 
mon opinion among these people that all Eu¬ 
ropean travellers are well skilled in physic. 
Knowing this, the colonel, before his departure 
from Constantinople, had taken care to provide 
himself with some medicines; and on the pre¬ 
sent occasion he selected one which he was 
aware would operate powerfully enough. The 
Arab, soon after swallowing the dose, was taken 
with such excruciating pain and gripings, as to 
leave no doubt in his mind that he was poisoned. 
An uncommon bustle ensued among his people, 
and every thing indicated the commencement 
of a terrible conflict, for which the colonel pre¬ 
pared himself, being determined that his life 
should be dearly purchased by his assailants. 
But just as the storm was about to burst forth, 
the remedy that had been administered produced 
its intended effect; and the patient being thus 
wonderfully relieved from the acuteness of suf- 


95 


fering, changed his resentment into gratitude. 
Every mark of hospitality was now shewn to 
the colonel and his company; and the chief of 
the band continued to give them his powerful 
protection, during a great part of their perilous 
journey. At Bagdad, where the colonel was 
induced to make some stay, he formed an ac¬ 
quaintance with the celebrated Ali Pacha, who 
distinguished him in a particular manner; and 
as a testimony of his esteem, presented him 
with a very valuable Arabian horse. This ani¬ 
mal, which became well known afterwards in 
India by the name of the donor, was given by 
the colonel to the company’s stud at Poosah, 
in Bengal, for the purpose of improving the 
breed, which cannot fail to be of essential be¬ 
nefit in that country. Proceeding at length to 
Bussorah, our traveller embarked for Bombay, 
from which place he made the best of his way 
to Madras. This was early in the year 1S06; 
and soon after ha was appointed to the com¬ 
mand at Arcot, where he had been but a few 
days, when the dreadful explosion took place 
at Vellore, which threatened not only the de- 


96 

struction of our settlements in Mysore, but the 
utter extermination of the English power in the 
east. 

It is beside our purpose here to enter into a 
minute detail of the various causes which com¬ 
bined in producing the insurrection and cata¬ 
strophe that now took place; but no doubt can 
be entertained that the alterations in the dress 
of the native troops were no more than a mere 
pretext for the discontent and mutiny. Certain 
it is, that the business had a much deeper 
foundation, and a more extended line of ope¬ 
rations, than appeared at the time ; for though 
the military regulations might have been in some 
degree calculated to excite fears in the preju¬ 
diced minds of the natives, who naturally felt 
apprehensive of farther innovations, civil and 
religious, still these jealousies were nothing 
more than convenient matter, upon which the 
designing were enabled to act and to convert 
to another object. The sepoys and the 
lower classes ot* the people were only instru¬ 
ments in the hands of crafty, ambitious, and 
intriguing men, who, in their hatred of the 


97 

English, hoped by this opportunity to succeed 
at once in annihilating our dominion in that 
quarter. With this view, it was resolved, by a 
general massacre, at the same time to distract 
the attention, and to render the efforts of the 
Europeans of no avail, by a rising at once in 
different places, waiting for the success of that 
at \ellore as the signal to spread the work of 
carnage and desolation through the three pre¬ 
sidencies. The scheme was planned upon a 
scale so extended, and with such a superiority 
of skill in the direction, as to prove clearly 
that it had been long in contemplation, and 
that it was under the management of those, 
who, to great intellect and inveterate malignity, 
added the powerful means of riches and num¬ 
bers. Vellore was pitched upon as the centre 
of operations, on account of its local advan¬ 
tages, and because it afforded a rallying point, 
in being the spot selected by our government 
for the residence of the sons of the Sultaun Tip- 
poo. From the turbulent state of the native 
chiefs, and the natural jealousy of foreigners, 
it was anticipated by the authors of this for¬ 
midable conspiracy that the whole mass of 


H 


98 

population would be so favourable to the in¬ 
surgents, as to withhold all assistance from the 
objects of their fury. 

This was the critical period when the lieu¬ 
tenant-colonel took the command at Arcot, 
where he learnt, with great satisfaction, that his 
old companion in arms, Colonel Fancourt, with 
whom he had served in St. Domingo under 
General Simco, was then at the head of the 
neighbouring garrison of Vellore. On the ninth 
of July, Colonel Gillespie had appointed to 
have dined with his friend and family; but just 
as he mounted his horse for that purpose, some 
letters arrived from the government, which, 
requiring immediate answers, compelled him to 
relinquish his visit, and to send an apology to 
Colonel Fancourt for his unavoidable absence. 
There was a visible interposition of Divine 
Providence in this disappointment; since, had 
it not been for the imperative circumstance of 
duty which detained him at Arcot, Colonel 
Gillespie would, in all probability, have shared 
the melancholy catastrophe of his brave and 
unfortunate acquaintance. The troops which 

this time garrisoned Vellore were six com- 


99 


panies of the first battalion of the first regiment 
of native infantry, the second battalion of the 
twenty-third regiment, and four complete com¬ 
panies of His Majesty’s sixty-ninth regiment. 

The confederates intended that all who were 
brought to join in the insurrection should act 
upon a preconcerted plan, which had been di¬ 
gested and privately circulated by some of the 
Marawa chiefs: and in connexion with them 
were some Frenchmen disguised as Fakeers, 
who went about the country inveighing every 
where against the English as robbers and ty¬ 
rants. Unhappily, the splendour which the 
sons of Tippoo were enabled by our liberality 
to keep up, and the liberty which they enjoyed 
of holding an intercourse with a continual in¬ 
flux of strangers, contributed to strengthen the 
conspiracy, and to facilitate the desperate re¬ 
solution of those who formed it. They were, 
however, as it seemed, too precipitate ; and the 
very day that Colonel Gillespie was to have 
dined with his friend happened to be the one 
which the insurgents pitched upon as the most 
opportune for their diabolical purpose, encou¬ 
raged thereto, in all likelihood, by the unsus- 
H 2 


100 


pecting deportment of our officers, and the 
extreme mildness of the government. It was, 
indeed, to many valuable men a fatal supine¬ 
ness; for while they were enjoying in complete 
confidence social harmony, neither apprehen¬ 
sive of evil designs in others, nor meditating 
Oppression themselves, the murderous plot was 
ripening into action. About two o’clock in 
the morning of the tenth of July, just as the 
moon had risen above the horizon, the Euro¬ 
pean barracks at Vellore were silently sur¬ 
rounded, and a most destructive fire was poured 
ift at every door and window from musketry 
and a six-pounder upon the poor defenceless 
soldiers, who, being taken by surprise, fell in 
heaps. At the same moment, the European 
soldiers, with those on the main guard, and 
even the sick in the hospital, were inhu¬ 
manly butchered; after which, the assassins 
hastened to the houses of the officers, where 
they put to death all that fell into their hands. 
Colonel M‘Kerras, who commanded one of 
the battalions, was shot while haranguing his 
men on the parade ground; and Colonel Fan- 
court fell in like manner, as he was proceeding 


101 


to the main guard. Lieutenant Ely, of the 
sixty-ninth, with his infant son in his arms, 
was bayonetted in the presence of his wife: 
and this scene of barbarity continued till about 
seven o’clock, when two officers and a sur¬ 
geon, whose quarters were near to the European 
barracks, contrived to get in, and take the 
command of the remains of the four companies. 
These few men made a sally from the barracks; 
and having gained possession of the six-pounder, 
they fought their way desperately through their 
assailants, till they succeeded in reaching the 
gateway, on the top of which Serjeant Brodie, 
with his European guard, continued most gal¬ 
lantly to resist the whole body of insurgents. 

Such was the state of things at Vellore, when 
Lieutenant-Colonel Gillespie, totally ignorant of 
the confusion that raged there, mounted his horse 
at six o’clock in the morning, with the inten¬ 
tion of riding over to breakfast. At the instant 
he was about to set out, the dismal tidings 
came of the tragic fate of his friend, and of the 
horrors that were still prevailing. No time was 
to be lost; and, therefore, collecting imme¬ 
diately about a troop of the nineteenth dra- 


102 

goons, and ordering the galloper guns to follow 
with ail speed, he hastened forward with the 
utmost eagerness. So anxious, indeed, was he to 
reach the place, that he was considerably in ad¬ 
vance of his men all the way; and on his ap¬ 
pearance, Serjeant Brodie, who had served with 
him in St. Domingo, instantly recognized him, 
and turning to his drooping comrades, he ex¬ 
claimed: “ IfColonel Gillespie be alive,he is now 
at the head of the nineteenth dragoons, and God 
Almighty has sent him from the West Indies 
to save our lives in the East. 3 ’ It was indeed, 
in all respects, such a display of divine goodness, 
as could hardly fail to kindle in the most thought¬ 
less mind a ray of devotional gratitude, while 
hope was pointing out a prospect of deliverance. 
Urged on by the noblest of all motives, that of 
saving his fellow-creatures, the colonel, re¬ 
gardless of his own safety, and in the face of a 
furious fire poured upon him from the walls, 
pushed towards the bastion, where a chain, 
formed of the soldiers’ belts, being let down by the 
serjeant, the latter had the indescribable satisfac¬ 
tion of welcoming a leader from whom he knew 
every thing might be expected that energy and 


103 


perseverance could accomplish. Immediately 
on assuming the command, the lieutenant-co¬ 
lonel formed the resolution of charging the mu¬ 
tineers with the bayonet, which he carried into 
execution, and thus kept them in check till the 
arrival of the galloper guns, when orders were 
given to blow open the gate, which being 
promptly done, the dragoons entered, and a 
short but severe conflict ensued. The sepoys 
were encouraged to make a desperate stand by 
their officers; but, after losing about six hun¬ 
dred, who were cut in pieces on the spot, the 
rest fled in all directions. A considerable num¬ 
ber escaped through the sally-port: but many 
hundreds were taken in hiding places, and im¬ 
prisoned. The standard of Tippoo had been 
hoisted on the palace soon after the dreadful 
business commenced, which left no doubt of 
its being projected with the knowledge of the 
princes. So well assured, indeed, was the lieu¬ 
tenant-colonel of this fact, that in the first emo¬ 
tion of indignation, occasioned by the death of 
his friend, and the shocking spectacle which 
presented itself on all sides, he would have con¬ 
sented to the demands of the enraged soldiers, 


104 


who were bent upon entering the palace. But 
the entreaties of some persons who had the care 
of the princes prevailed ; and though the colonel 
could not be persuaded of their innocence, he 
condescended to take them under his protec¬ 
tion, and sent them soon after with a guard to 
Madras. Thus, it may be truly said, did the 
prompt and decisive spirit of one man put 
an end to this dangerous confederacy; for 
had the fort remained in the possession of the 
insurgents but a few days, they were certain 
of being joined by fifty thousand men from 
Mysore. 

This energetic act was, indeed, the preservation 
of the Carnatic; and so convinced was the general, 
Sir John Cradock, of the immense value of the 
service performed by the colonel, that he called 
it in his dispatch 46 a military wonderand 
well might it be so termed, for Vellore is one of 
the strongest fortresses in that part of India. 
The gratification produced by the suppression 
of this systematic combination, and the sensa¬ 
tion of delight excited by the deliverance of 
many valuable lives, particularly of the wife 
and family of his friend, experienced a melan- 


105 

cboly depression in the loss of an esteemed ac¬ 
quaintance under such circumstances. Though 
Colonel Gillespie exposed himself throughout 
this arduous conflict in every part where 
danger and death prevailed, he fortunately re¬ 
ceived no other injury than a severe contusion 
on the right arm; which, however, neither 
slackened his own exertions, nor dispirited those 
who fought under his directions. Soon after 
this he was called upon to act at Wallajabad, 
and other stations, for the purpose of repressing 
the symptoms of insurrection, which were in¬ 
dicated in these places. 

For this important service, the colonel was 
rewarded by the supreme government with a 
vote of thanks, very handsomely expressed, ac- 
companied by a small pecuniary present. He 
was also appointed inspector of cavalry, which 
office he discharged in such a manner, as to call 
forth general admiration; but at the end of 
twelve months he was deprived of that situation 
in an indelicate manner, though it had been 
conferred as a honourable mark of distinction, 
and was neither attended with ease nor profit* 


106 


Such was the unexpected result of his heroic 
zeal, at the moment when, it may be said, that 
on his single determination hung the fate of 
our eastern possessions, and the existence, 
not of a single fortress or an army, but of an 
extensive empire, consisting of millions of in¬ 
habitants of various denominations, countries, 
and pursuits. This is not the exaggerated lan¬ 
guage of oriental declamation and hyperbolical 
panegyric, but the serious expression of truth 
and feeling, occasioned by a sense of what 
this valuable man did for British India, and 
regret that his services should have passed in a 
manner unrequited. It is painful to notice any 
thing like indifference to great professional 
merit, on the part of public bodies; but when 
the obligations of the country to the man who 
secured by his intrepidity our eastern acquisi¬ 
tions are considered, it cannot surely be un¬ 
reasonable to say, that the recompense ought to 
have been commensurate with the magnitude of 
what was gained by such valour; nor can it be 
unjust to complain, when it is found that this 
recompense amounted comparatively to nothing. 


107 

Without attempting, or even wishing to call in 
question the claims of those who have expe¬ 
rienced the liberality of the India Company, it 
may, at least, be permitted to observe, that in 
no one instance has this liberality been more 
deserved than it would have been, had it flowed 
in the form of a permanent grant to the deli¬ 
verer of Vellore. 

The premature developement of the conspiracy 
was, no doubt, upon the whole, a very fortu¬ 
nate circumstance ; but this, in no degree, 
lessened the value of his service who crushed 
the evil in its beginning, by the firmness of his 
resolution, and the rapidity of his movements. 
On the contrary, it is evident that this promp¬ 
titude alone prevented the mischief from ga¬ 
thering into an overwhelming torrent, which 
no wisdom could have diverted, nor any power 
that we possessed in that part of the world have 
subdued. It would, therefore, have been a 
more grateful task for the biographer to have 
recorded, with the narrative of this splendid 
atchievement, an account of the reward by 
which the remembrance of it is perpetuated. 


108 

Precluded from doing this by that neglect 
which too often leaves great actions to the sa¬ 
tisfaction arising from barren laurels and empty 
praise, all that remains is to say, that if British 
India was worth the preservation, something 
certainly is yet due to the memory and the family 
of him who saved it by his energy, and died in 
its defence. 

The nineteenth light dragoons being ordered 
to Europe, the lieutenant-colonel, on the six¬ 
teenth of April, 1807? exchanged into the eighth, 
or royal Irish light dragoons ; soon after which, 
he was appointed to command the cavalry in 
Bengal, against the Seiks of the Panjab, near 
the ancient Hydraotes. 

In this service, he rendered essential benefit 
both to the king's troops under his command, 
and those of the Company, by his skilful ma¬ 
nagement and prudent regulations. These im¬ 
provements were rendered necessary, by the de¬ 
teriorated state of discipline into which both 
branches of cavalry had been suffered to fall: 
but though the difficulty of reform was increased 
by the length of time, during which the neglU 


109 

gence had continued, and the peculiar circum¬ 
stances of distinct authorities, the colonel hap¬ 
pily succeeded in effecting a speedy change for 
the better, and, what was still more pleasing, 
without exciting either discontent or jealousy. 
On the breaking up of the camp at Ludheana, 
Colonel Gillespie repaired to the Hurdwar, to¬ 
wards the sources of the Ganges, that he might 
pass his leisure time in the diversion of tyger 
hunting, accompanied by his friends. Colonel 
Sir William Keir, and Captain Taylor, military 
secretary to the governor-general, who were, 
like himself, fond of that dangerous and enter¬ 
prising sport. 

While they were encamped for this purpose, 
at a place called Mornee, in the Kamaoon 
mountains, the Rajah of those parts, who was 
then at war with his neighbours, the Seiks, 
offered the command of his troops to Colonel 
Gillespie, which was of course refused, as our 
government was at that time in a state of amity 
with the Seiks. But the Rajah being unwilling 
to lose the advantage which fortune seemed to 
have thrown in his way, of gaining a European 
leader for his army, in an attack that he was about 


110 

to make, conceived that he should gain by menace 
what was denied to his intreaty. With this 
view, he ordered the small camp of the English 
gentlemen to be surrounded by a large body 
of armed men : upon which, the colonel, whose 
presence of mind never forsook him in an emer¬ 
gency, and whose courage was not to be daunt¬ 
ed by threats or numbers, called the chief of 
the party before him, and pulling out his watch, 
said to him, “ Tell the Rajah, your master, that if 
in half-an-hour he does not recall his men from 
around my tents, and leave the road open to me 
and my company, 1 shall take his fort from 
him, and expel him the country.” The deter¬ 
mined manner with which this was spoken 
completely awed and astonished the chief, who 
reported the message so faithfully, and with 
such a description of the firmness of the co¬ 
lonel, that the Rajah not only withdrew his forces, 
thus leaving the passage free, but voluntarily 
gave the Europeans an honourable escort to 
attend them out of his territory. When this in¬ 
stance of heroism occurred, it was little to be 
apprehended that among these very mountains, 
and probably upon this very spot, the colonel 


Ill 


should six years afterwards terminate his glo¬ 
rious and eventful career. 

Having mentioned the subject of tyger-hunt- 
ing, it will not be amiss to mention here a re¬ 
markable instance of the daring courage of the 
colonel, which happened some time after this, 
on the race-course of Bangalore, where he at¬ 
tacked and speared a royal tyger, of the largest 
size, and most furious description. The horse 
which he rode on this occasion was a high bred 
Arabian, and the only one that could be brought 
to face the tyger. This fine animal is now, or 
was lately, in England, having been sent home 
by the colonel as a present to his Royal High¬ 
ness the Duke of York. 

On the fifth of January, 1S09 5 Lieutenant- 
Colonel Gillespie exchanged into the twenty- 
fifth light dragoons, for more active service ; 
and it was not a little gratifying to his feelings 
that this removal brought him into a regiment 
of which that excellent officer, and the parental 
friend of his youthful days, Major-General 
Wilford, was then the colonel. 

At leaving the former regiment, he gave the 
officers and men a most affectionate expression 


112 

of his esteem; and he received in return a re¬ 
markable testimony of gratitude in the following 
address, the sincerity of which constituted an 
ample excuse for any slight irregularity that 
may be discovered in the proceeding. 

To Lieutenant-Colonel R. R. Gillespie, Eighth, 
or King’s Royal Irish Light Dragoons. 

Sir, 

We, the non-commissioned officers and pri¬ 
vate men of His Majesty’s eighth light dra¬ 
goons, cannot take leave of an officer so justly 
and eminently distinguished, so highly endeared 
to the whole corps by his public and private 
virtues, without expressing our regret, without 
acknowledging the farewell which was trans¬ 
mitted to us. Uncertain if our request may 
meet your concurrence, yet relying on that 
condescension which has ever distinguished 
you, we beg your acceptance of a sword, va¬ 
lued at two hundred pounds sterling, as a small 
testimony of the sense which the whole corps 
entertain of your goodness. Be assured, Sir, 
that wherever your services may be required, 
you will be* attended by the most earnest 


113 

wishes of the royal Irish dragoons for your wel¬ 
fare ; and by their prayer, that you will return 
to them. We are well aware, that under the 
command of Colonel Wood, who for some 
years past has commanded the corps to the per¬ 
fect satisfaction of every individual, we can 
have nothing but your absence to regret: under 
him the eighth dragoons have ever felt the 
highest happiness ; yet, as duties of a higher 
station may shortly call him from us, what a 
satisfactory consideration would it be, that his 
command would be succeeded by that of Lieu¬ 
tenant-Colonel Gillespie ! Accept, Sir, these 
effusions of grateful though not polished minds. 
We acknowledge our presumption in addressing 
one so highly our superior; yet, your goodness 
induces us to hope we shall be excused. 

Signed by all the regiment.” 

To this effusion of honest affection and ad¬ 
miration, which could only have proceeded 
from minds warmed by gratitude, the colonel 
returned the following appropriate answer: 


I 


114 


To the non-commissioned officers and pri¬ 
vates of His Majesty’s Eighth Light Dragoons, 
Cawnpore, 20th August, 1809. 

I have received, brother soldiers, your ad¬ 
dress, with sentiments of satisfaction that are 
not easily described. 

If I were formerly a soldier, proud of his 
profession, and conscious of having always 
acted uprightly in the exercise of its duties, I 
now feel amply repaid in having gained the 
good opinion of so numerous and respectable a 
corps as His Majesty’s Royal Irish, or eighth 
light dragoons. Accept, then, comrades, of my 
grateful thanks for the good wishes you express; 
and as it appears we are about to be separated, 
I have to lament that I may not be with you 
when your services are required: a day, which, 
whenever it arrives, I prognosticate will cover 
you with glory. I know the exertions you are 
capable of, and that they are such as will do 
honour to yourselves, and gain the approbation 
of your glorious king and country. 

The sword you offer is a tribute of too great 
value. Let it be less so, and without any 
ornament but an inscription, 

The Gift oe the Koval Irish, 


115 

which will make it more valuable to me than 
were it covered with gold. 1 shall receive it 
with gratitude; and when I draw it in the de¬ 
fence of my country, I shall remember you. 

Once more, comrades, I bid you farewell, 
and I do it now with a less heavy heart, as I 
am conscious 1 leave you under the command of 
an officer who knows how to appreciate your 
worth, and do justice to your merits. Adieu, 

Robert Rollg Gillespie* 
Lieutenant-Colonel. 

Without entering into the discussion of the 
propriety of such addresses on the part of the 
commanded to their superiors, it is but justice 
to both parties, in the present instance, to ob¬ 
serve, that the vote resulted from what may 
be denominated genuine filial affection. 

Of this, indeed, another proof appeared, at 
the same time, in a memorial from the officers of 
the regiment, to His Royal Highness the Com- 
mander-in-chief, soliciting either the continu¬ 
ance of the lieutenant-colonel with the Irish light 
dragoons, or his restoration to them at a future 
period. On being favoured with a perusal of 
i 2 


116 

this honourable testimony of the esteem in 
which he was held by his brothers in arms, the 
colonel returned it with a letter, in which, 
among other expressions characteristic of his 
noble disposition and gratitude, he says, 
“ Wherever I go, I shall have but to call to my re¬ 
collection the affectionate testimony of my Royal 
Irish friends, to inspire me with a double portion 
of zeal and ardour in the support of my king and 
country ; and Honour, that treasure of a soldier, 
bought with blood, and kept at life’s expense/* 
Soon after this he returned to the peninsula 
of India, and assumed the command at Ban¬ 
galore with the brevet rank of colonel, to which 
he was appointed the twenty-fifth of October 
in that year. This was a period of peculiar 
difficulty; for, in consequence of various com¬ 
motions which had taken place in the Madras 
army, several courts-martial were to be held at 
the station where the colonel commanded. In 
such a perturbed state of contending interests 
and feelings, when wrought up to a pitch of 
irritation by disappointment or resentment, it 
required no ordinary discretion and firmness in 
the commanding officer to allay the ferment of 


117 

conflicting passions, and to prevent their break¬ 
ing out into serious disturbances. Where so 
many persons were assembled together on a 
similar object, but with different opinions and 
opposite wishes, it would have betrayed little 
acquaintance with human nature to expect 
tranquil sentiment and mutual condescension. 
On the contrary, much was to be dreaded from 
the agitation of wounded pride, and the vio¬ 
lence of unreasonable prejudice. To control 
these elements of strife, and to bring such a 
number of discordant spirits within the bounds 
of moderation, without lessening the dignity of 
authority on the one hand, or exercising any 
undue stretch of power on the other, must 
have been no easy task. Happily, however, it 
was in the management of one, who united to 
the most determined inflexibility of resolution 
in what was right, a serenity of temper and 
suavity of manners, that gave to the positive 
denial an agreeable mildness, and deprived 
even the most peremptory decision of all the 
harshness of severity. 

Under the personal direction, and by the in¬ 
defatigable exertion of such a commander, it is 


118 

not to be wondered that the large body of* troops 
then stationed at Bangalore should have made 
a rapid improvement in discipline and the 
manoeuvres of the field. The colonel super¬ 
intended their exercises both in brigade and line 
with so much attention, that in comparatively 
a short space these corps, composed of every 
arm, cavalry, infantry, and a portion of artil¬ 
lery, comprising in the whole ten regiments, 
formed one of the finest and most perfect mi¬ 
litary bodies in existence. Of the importance 
of the services of Colonel Gillespie, indeed, at 
this period, a striking proof was given in his 
appointment to the command of the whole 
Mysore division : but another scene, still more 
congenial to his enterprising mind, was about 
to open for the display of his splendid talents, 
and the gratification of his heroic thirst for 
glory. 

The occupation of the island of Java by the 
French in great force, and the uncommon pains 
taken by them in strengthening and improving 
that important island, could not fail to awaken 
the jealousy of the British government in India. 
The active operations carried on in that quarter, 


119 

and the means employed by the generals cook 
manding there, formed such a contrast to the 
apathy of the Dutch, and were so completely 
in unison with the ambitious declarations of the 
imperial chief whom they served, that to have 
suffered these vast military preparations to ad¬ 
vance, without an attempt to wrest the settle¬ 
ment from the hands of its new possessor, 
would have indicated a culpable indifference to 
the security of our eastern territories. Con¬ 
sidering, therefore, the danger which menaced 
our commercial and political existence, it be¬ 
came necessary to send, with all possible dis¬ 
patch, a formidable expedition against Java; 
and no sooner did this object occupy the at¬ 
tention of our council, than the advice of Co¬ 
lonel Gillespie was taken with respect to the 
proper measures for carrying it into effect. It 
may, without derogating from the merits of 
others, be truly asserted, that, in the preli¬ 
minary consultations, as well as in the subse¬ 
quent arrangements and execution of this im¬ 
portant enterprise, the mind of the colonel was 
felt as a powerful spring, upon which the ulti¬ 
mate success materially depended. 


120 

The expedition, which was accompanied by 
the Earl of Minto, governor-general, having 
completed its preparations, the first division, 
under Colonel Gillespie, sailed on the eighteenth 
of April, 1811 , from Madras Roads; and, 
in about a week after, the remainder of the 
troops followed, under the command of Major- 
General Wetherall. The very day after their 
sailing, a violent hurricane came on, which 
seemed to threaten the destruction of the ar¬ 
mament, but providentially no material loss 
was sustained. The long experience of Colonel 
Gillespie in the West Indies was of most es¬ 
sential service on this occasion, and contri¬ 
buted greatly to the preservation of the men 
and horses. He frequently visited the several 
transports during the passage, to enforce the 
orders that had been prescribed; and in this 
service he was ably supported by all the officers 
who were embarked in that convoy. In con¬ 
sequence of this assiduous care and personal at¬ 
tention, notwithstanding the extreme heat, and 
long confinement on board the ships, the troops 
reached their destination in good health, and 
were ready to enter upon immediate action. 


121 


The whole were commanded by Sir Samuel 
Auchmuty, who, like an affectionate parent, 
was attentive to every suggestion that could 
contribute to their comfort during a voyage of 
near four months. On the fourth of August, 
the advance, under Colonel Gillespie, landed 
at Chillingching, in the bay of Batavia, and 
immediately moved forward, taking up a posi¬ 
tion beyond the village, that, by gaining pos¬ 
session of the road to Cornelis, where the enemy 
were in great force, the landing of the rest of 
the troops might be protected. On the morning 
of the sixth, the colonel, with a small party, 
reconnoitred the road and country along the 
coast towards Batavia; and, from his report, 
the commander-in-chief directed the advance 
to counter-march the same evening, and occupy 
a position about six miles from the capital, 
which was entered on the eighth, and a royal 
salute fired from the shipping. As an attempt 
was apprehended from the enemy in the vici¬ 
nity the same evening, the troops were silently 
drawn out, and ordered to lie on their arms in 
the grand square, which they had scarcely 
reached, when the head of the enemy’s co* 


m 

lumn appeared, and opened a fire upon the 
picquet stationed at the bridge, leading from 
Weltervreeden to the town. The firing being 
now heard in all directions. Colonel Gillespie 
sallied out at the head of a party, with the in¬ 
tention of charging the enemy in flank, which 
movement had the desired effect, and the firing 
completely ceased by the retreat of the assail¬ 
ants. At four o’clock in the morning of the 
tenth, the advance marched from Batavia to¬ 
wards Weltervreeden, under the orders of Co¬ 
lonel Gillespie ; but just as the officers mounted 
their horses, they were all taken suddenly ill, 
in consequence of swallowing some deleterious 
drug, which had been infused into their coffee 
by a Frenchman who kept the house where 
they were quartered. The fellow had a cup of 
the same mixture poured down his throat, 
though sorely against his will; but this was the 
only punishment inflicted upon him, as the oc¬ 
cupation of the moment, and other serious con¬ 
cerns, prevented a further investigation of the 
atrocious act. At the break of day, the party 
arrived at the cantonment of Weltervreeden, 
which they found abandoned, the troops of the 


123 


enemy having retrograded to their strong po¬ 
sition on the road towards Cornelis. Here 
their right was protected by the Slokan River; 
and their left by the great river of Batavia, over 
which was a bridge, at that time in flames. 
Pepper plantations concealed their lines, and an 
abbatis blocked up the road on which Colonel 
Gillespie's left was advancing. Behind the 
abbatis were placed four horse artillery guns, 
which opened a fire as soon as the troops ar¬ 
rived within range of their grape. At the same 
time, the infantry of the enemy occupied two 
villages, stretching along both sides of the road, 
and from thence kept up a brisk fire of mus¬ 
ketry. The enemy's guns were answered by 
three pieces of large artillery attached to the 
British advance, while our sharp shooters made 
sure of their aim along the whole front. Dis¬ 
positions had already been made for turning the 
enemy's flanks ; which object was carried, after 
surmounting very great obstacles, from the na¬ 
ture of the country. The two villages just 
mentioned were set on fire, and our troops 
rushing forward, charged the guns at the point 
of the bayonet. The action lasted full two 


124 

hours; but, notwithstanding the formidable num¬ 
bers which the British had to encounter, and the 
impediments that impeded their operations, they 
completely succeeded in defeating the enemy, 
who, after a severe loss in officers and men, fled 
towards Cornelis. Colonel Gillespie, at the head 
of a squadron of the twenty-second dragoons, 
pressed hard upon the fugitives, who were follow¬ 
ed close under their batteries, from whence the 
pursuers were assailed by a shower of grape and 
round shot. In the arsenal were found upwards of 
three hundred pieces of ordnance, and a quantity 
of military stores. But the principal benefit gain¬ 
ed by this brilliant action, was the immediate 
possession of the healthy cantonment of Wei- 
tervreeden, which was most essential to the 
preservation of our soldiers. The capture of 
this place was, therefore, of the greatest im¬ 
portance, as it had been the policy of the French 
general, in case of invasion, to make Batavia an 
object of temptation ; being well aware, that the 
noxious climate there would in a short time 
produce a mortality among the troops. 

On the morning after this affair, the following 
brigade orders were issued : 


125 


“ Colonel Gillespie, in appreciating the gal¬ 
lantry of the troops whom he had the honour to 
command in the action of yesterday, cannot 
find words adequate to express his thanks, and 
the admiration which their heroic behaviour has 
excited. He will take the earliest opportunity 
of particularizing to his Excellency the Com¬ 
mander-in-chief the meritorious conduct of the 
officers and men, during the whole,of that brisk 
affair; and trusts that the victory gained will 
be considered worthy the glory of adding a sprig 
to the laurels already won by the distinguished 
troops comprising the advance/ 1 

In the public thanks given to Colonel Gil¬ 
lespie for his conduct, the commander-in-chief 
observes, “ that he entirely approves the gallant 
manner in which he profited by the permission 
given him to exercise his discretion in push¬ 
ing the enemy some distance towards Cor- 
nelis, should he see an opportunity, after pos¬ 
sessing himself of the cantonment of Welter- 
vreeden.” 

The possession of this important post faci¬ 
litated the preparations for driving the enemy 
out of their strong hold of Cornelis, an en- 


126 


trenched camp, protected by two rivers, one on 
the east, and the other on the west, with nu¬ 
merous batteries guarding each pass. The cir¬ 
cumference of these fortified lines comprised 
nearly five miles, defended by two hundred 
and eighty pieces of cannon. Here the whole 
of the French force, which had been consider¬ 
ably augmented by recent supplies from Eu¬ 
rope, was concentrated, under the governor- 
general Janssens, and General Jumel, the senior 
military officer, who had neglected no means that 
could be adopted to render these lines, which 
W'ere strong by their natural situation, still more 
secure by art. But such was the ardour of our 
soldiers, that without regarding the resistance 
they had to combat, it would have been gratify¬ 
ing their wishes, if an immediate attack had 
been made upon these formidable works. Pru¬ 
dence, however, dictated more cautious mea¬ 
sures; and Sir Samuel Auchmuty wisely de¬ 
termined to make himself better acquainted with 
the position, before he ventured upon an at¬ 
tack. In the mean time, every exertion was 
made to facilitate operations; and so actively 
were these carried on, that in the night of the 


127 

twentieth, the army broke ground within six 
hundred yards of the enemy’s works. The 
troops of the advance under Colonel Gillespie 
guarded the trenches, and every measure was 
taken for the security of the working parties, 
who continued their labours unmolested the 
whole night. On the dawn of the twenty-first, 
the enemy opened a severe fire, which a little 
damaged the yet unfinished batteries, and an¬ 
noyed the troops in their operations of relief; 
but still the works went on, and with such ef¬ 
fect, that at eight in the morning of the twenty- 
fourth, a tremendous fire was opened upon the 
enemy, who returned it in a spirited manner. 

But as it was evident that a contest of this 
kind could not long continue without material 
injury to the assailants, and as the enemy were 
still actively employed in strengthening their 
lines of defence, the necessity of a more de¬ 
cisive mode of attack became obvious. In fol¬ 
lowing up this resolution, the principal diffi¬ 
culty lay in ascertaining the point most favour¬ 
able for an assault; the greatest precautions 
having been taken by the enemy to keep the 
real state of Cornells a secret, even from the in- 


128 


habitants of Batavia. A very imperfect know¬ 
ledge could be obtained by reconnoitring, owing 
to the nature of the situation ; and the informa¬ 
tion furnished by deserters was little to be re¬ 
lied on, though it was plain enough, from their 
intelligence, that uncommon pains had been 
taken to render the front towards Batavia as 
strong as possible. A front attack was, there¬ 
fore, considered as unadviseable, not only from 
the risk which attended it, but the certainty of a 
prodigious loss, even in the event of success. 
A plan for turning the enemy’s left by a path 
leading round the entrenchments, on the side of 
the great river, was then proposed, and a de¬ 
serter offered himself as a guide: but on minute 
investigation, it was found that this path would 
admit only of a file abreast; and to attack thir¬ 
teen thousand men strongly entrenched by such 
a passage, appeared too hazardous to be at¬ 
tempted. From all the observations that could 
be made, the natural inference was, that the 
enemy were as well secured towards their rear 
as in their front; and, in reality, this proved to 
be their strongest side. An assault on their left 
flank was equally objectionable, as the great 


m 

river which covered it was unfordable, with 
steep banks, and an almost impenetrable jungle. 
The only remaining front to be noticed was 
that of their right, on the Slokan; and this, 
unquestionably, was the weakest. 

iMom the openness of the country in this 
quarter, it was more easy to make observations; 
but reconnoitring on this side was discouraged 
by our general, that the enemy might have no 
suspicion of his intentions. Particular infor¬ 
mation was desirable on the situation of one of 
the redoubts, which was supposed to lie bevond 
the Slokan; and fortunately this was at length 
obtained at the very moment when it was most 
wanted. An intelligent sergeant, who deserted 
from that part on the twenty-fourth, described 
exactly the position of the redoubt, the bridge 
that connected it with the rest of the works, 
and the defence by which it was protected. 

On this information, the plan of attack was 
settled; and two days afterwards, the fate of 
Java was to be determined by storming the 
lines of Cornelis. 

Colonel Gillespie commanded the principal 
attack. and the troops under his orders con* 


K 


130 


sisted of the infantry part of the advance, form- 
ing the leading column, and the part of the 
right brigade of the line, having Colonel Gibbs 
at their head. 

This force moved off soon after midnight, on 
the morning of the twenty-sixth of August, and 
took the route by which the deserter, who 
acted as the guide, had escaped : and here it will 
be proper to continue the narrative in an extract 
from the Memoir of the Conquest of Java. We 
had to make a detour of many miles through a 
very difficult country, intersected with ravines, 
inclosures, and betel plantations, resembling hop 
grounds, many parts of which could only be 
passed in single files-: and though the head of 
the column moved at a snail’s pace, the great 
darkness of the night caused the troops in the 
rear to separate from them, and miss their way. 

On arriving at a place where several roads 
met, our guide was perplexed which to pursue; 
but Captain Dickson, of the Madras cavalry, 
aide-de-camp to Sir Samuel Auchmuty, having 
been reconnoitring in this direction some days 
before, very fortunately recollected the right 
one, which was pursued accordingly, and our 


131 


guide soon confirmed the choice by recognizin'’' 
objects which he had marked in his escape; 
and being now convinced that it was the right 
road, he went forward with full confidence. 

The head of the column had arrived very 
near the enemy’s works, when a report was 
brought to Colonel Gillespie that the rear was 
not up. This awful moment was one of those 
solemn pauses of distressing anxiety which may 
be conceived, but cannot be well described, 
and is felt only by a mind that has been engaged 
in an arduous undertaking, on the success or fai¬ 
lure of which depend the lives of thousands, 
and the honour of a whole army. Too near to 
the enemy to escape being discovered by their 
scouts and patroling parties, it became necessary 
to make a retrograde movement; and after taking 
a few paces to the rear, we again faced towards 
the enemy, waiting in anxious expectation for 
the return of the messengers who had been sent 
to bring up the rear to close the column. The 
day was now fast approaching; to delay longer, 
therefore, for the rear, would have exposed us 
to a discovery; while a retreat would have been 
pregnant with incalculable mischief, for as all 


k 2 


132 

the secondary attacks were to be guided by our’s-, 
these must of necessity have miscarried, had 
the main column retired. 

These considerations determined Colonel 
Gillespie to venture on the attack with what 
troops were already up, trusting for timely 
support to Colonel Gibbs, whose gallantry and 
military ardour, he knew, would bring him to 
the scene of action the instant the report of the 
firing should serve to point out the direction of 
the route. With full confidence, therefore, 
our leader then placed himself at the head of 
his little band, and we moved on in silent 
expectation. A deep cut across the road, 
close to the enemas lines, obliged us to advance 
slowly, in order to afford time to the men to form 
up after they had passed over. 

The dawn of the morning now shewed us 
the videttes of the enemy, who were posted 
outside, on the left of the road. They chal¬ 
lenged us twice, and were answered, “ Patrole.” 
We passed on. An officer’s picquet, stationed 
close to one of their principal redoubts, situated 
without the river Slokan, challenged us next, 
when Colonel Gillespie gave the word te For- 


133 

ward and so rapidly was the advance con¬ 
ducted, that the enemy's picquet had not time 
to effect their retreat, but every man was either 
killed or taken. 

A general blaze now suddenly arose, blue 
lights and rockets being sent forth by the enemy 
to discover our approach, whilst the artillery on 
the redoubts discharged their grape and round 
shot, which, however, passed chiefly over our 
heads. The foe in the nearest redoubt had not 
time to re-load, for our soldiers actually assailed 
it at the point of the bayonet, and carried it 
with such celerity that not a man escaped. 

Colonel Gillespie continued to press for¬ 
ward, in order to secure the passage over the 
Slokan, leading into the enemy's lines; and 
which was defended by four guns, horse artillery, 
directly facing the bridge, and flanked by all 
their batteries. This, therefore, was a severe 
struggle; but the passage being secured, the colo¬ 
nel next turned to the left, and attacked a second 
redoubt within the body of their work^A Here 
a sharp conflict ensued. The handful of soldiers 
by which this post was attacked were opposed 
by such great numbers of the enemy, as to call 


134 


forth the most extraordinary efforts of gallantry 
on the part of the assailants. It was, however, 
carried at the point of the bayonet, in the same 
determined manner, notwithstanding the tre¬ 
mendous fire kept up by the enemy, both of 
grape and musketry. Several officers here lost 
their valuable lives in the very bosom of victory, 
and many gallant soldiers were killed and 
wounded. 

These two captured redoubts mounted each 
twenty eighteen pounders, and several twenty- 
four and thirty-two pounders, while the ditches 
were filled with musketeers. Another large 
redoubt on the right of our entrance was now 
to be assailed; and Colonel Gibbs just arriving 
at this time, at the head of the grenadiers of the 
fourteenth, fifty-ninth, and sixty-ninth regi¬ 
ments, Colonel Gillespie directed him to carry 
it, which was done in the-same gallant and 
successful manner as the preceding ones had 
been, and under a severe fire of grape and mus¬ 
ketry. A dreadful explosion took place in this 
redoubt, by the blowing up of the powder ma¬ 
gazine, which occasioned the loss of many lives. 
A great number of shells and rockets were fired 


135 

by this means; and a sulphureous blast of 
mingled ashes, smoke, and fragments of every 
kind, broke upon us like a volcano, stunning all 
around, both friends and foes. This catastrophe 
was followed for a minute by an awful silence. 
The captains of each of the grenadier companies 
of the above regiments, and many others, all 
found a death—but few a grave! Numbers of 
the enemy also were destroyed, and the ground 
was strewed with the mangled bodies and scat¬ 
tered limbs of friends and foes, blended together 
in a horrible state of fraternity. Colonel Gibbs, 
and several other officers, were thrown by the 
shock to a considerable distance, but fortu¬ 
nately without sustaining any material injury. 
This magazine is reported to have been fired by 
two captains in the French service, named 
Muller and Osman, who both perished in the 
explosion. Here, Brigadier JaufFret was taken 
prisoner by Colonel Gillespie in person. The 
enemy now renewed their fire upon our troops, 
with increased fury, from their park guns and 
batteries in the rear, and upon the little bridge 
across the Slokan, over which they had to pass. 

While Colonel Gibbs proceeded on to the 


right, Colonel Gillespie continued his opera¬ 
tions on the left, and towards the enemy’s rear. 
All the batteries in succession were stormed and 
taken : and being now joined by the fifty-ninth 
regiment, under Lieutenant-Colonel Alexander 
M’Leod, Colonel Gillespie directed the attack 
of the enemy’s park of artillery and reserve. 
The enemy’s cavalry formed upon the left of the 
line threatened to charge, but were repulsed 
by the well directed fire of a party of the fifty- 
ninth, who were sent against them. The same 
gallant corps then moved on in columns, along 
the face of the redoubt, No. 4, and gained 
the salient angle of the enemy’s line of re¬ 
serve, drawn up on the rear of their park guns 
and horse artillery, with a double front nearly 
at right angles; their rear and flanks being 
covered by the barracks and the small fort of 
Cornelis. The attack was carried into effect 
with the greatest promptitude; and though the 
assailants were saluted with a shower of grape, 
the enemy was driven from all his guns. An 
attempt was then made to effect a stand in front 
of fort Cornelis, sheltered by the barracks, from 
whence a sharp fire of musketry was kept up; 


137 

but being soon driven from this last ground, 
and the small fort itself having been carried by 
our troops, the enemy broke, and dispersed in 
all directions. 

Whilst these operations were going on by the 
force under Colonel Gillespie, two other at¬ 
tacks were made; one on the opposite side of 
the great river, by the column under Major 
Yule, at Campong Malayo; but finding the 
bridge in flames, and almost burnt down, the 
troops here employed could only fire their two 
six pounders of horse artillery across the river; 
by which, however, the enemy were greatly an¬ 
noyed in their retreat. The other attack under 
Lieutenant-Colonel William M’Leod, of the 
sixty-ninth regiment, was made on the opposite 
side from the main assault, having for its ob¬ 
ject a redoubt in that quarter, which was gal¬ 
lantly carried, though with the death of the 
brave officer by whom the column was con¬ 
ducted. 

The remainder of the army, with the com¬ 
mander-in-chief at their head, and Major-Ge¬ 
neral Wetherall, Colonel Wood, commanding 
the reserve* and Colonel Adams, commanding 


138 

the left brigade of the line, threatened the 
enemy in front, where our batteries were placed, 
joined by a body of seamen armed with pikes, 
under Captain Sayer of the royal navy. 

To disconcert the enemy as much as possible, 
Sir Samuel Auchmuty had directed a small 
party to be placed behind a rising ground, about 
two hundred paces in front of the right ol their 
lines, with orders to open a fire as soon as the 
attack by Colonel Gillespie should commence. 
These orders were punctually obeyed ; and the 
enemy concluding it to be a front attack, 
opened a heavy fire along the whole face, which 
produced the effect that had been expected ; for 
the enemy being persuaded that their front was 
the object of attack, could not draw any sup¬ 
plies from thence to resist that which was really 
made, and it exhausted their fire before our 
troops on that side were exposed to it. 

The main attack having been so successfully 
accomplished, all the other parties rushed in 
from their respective points, and together joined 
in pursuit of the flying enemy. 

Colonel Gillespie, weakened by a slow fever, 
and overcome with fatigue from his extraor- 


139 

dinary exertions, which were all on foot, as 
the nature of the country did not allow the use 
of horses at the onset, and from a blow or con¬ 
tusion which he received in the attack on the 
enemy’s park, fainted in the arms of two officers. 
But he soon recovered ; and seeing the cavalry 
come up, he accompanied them on a horse cut 
from the enemy’s guns, till his own charger 
arrived, which he instantly mounted, and headed 
the dragoons in a pursuit that continued ten 
miles. The enemy rallied several times; but 
though their generals and other superior officers 
made every exertion to effect a retreat under 
cover of the woods, all their endeavours proved 
unavailing. At one place they attempted to 
make a stand behind broken-down carts and 
thick hedges, under the support of four horse 
artillery guns; but our cavalry, led on by Co¬ 
lonel Gillespie, charged in sections through the 
avenues, in the face of a tremendous fire, with 
such impetuosity as to bear down all before 
them. The French superior officers and sharp¬ 
shooters remained in the rear, using every means 
to get their people off, who retired between two 
rivers, along a wide road; but the rout was 


140 

rendered complete without any material loss on 
the part of the victors. An excellent officer, 
however, Lieutenant Hutchins, of the twenty- 
second dragoons, was killed by a grape-shot at 
the side of Colonel Gillespie; and so close was 
the combat in general, that every officer was 
engaged at times hand to hand. Colonel Gil¬ 
lespie took one general in the batteries, another 
in the charge, and a colonel; besides having a 
personal affair, in which another colonel of the 
enemy fell by his arm. 

Sir Samuel Auchmuty, in giving an account 
of the loss of the enemy to Lord Minto, says, 
“ About one thousand have been buried in the 
works; multitudes were cut down in the re¬ 
treat; the rivers are choaked up with dead; 
and the huts and woods were filled with the 
wounded, who have since expired. We have 
taken near five thousand prisoners; among 
whom are three general officers, thirty-four field 
officers, seventy captains, and one hundred and 
fifty subaltern officers. General Janssens made 
his escape with difficulty during the action, 
and reached Buitenzorg, a distance of thirty 
miles, with a few cavalry, the sole remains of 


141 


an army of ten thousand men. This place he 
has since evacuated, and fled to the eastward. 
A detachment of our troops is in possession 
of it. 

“ The superior discipline and invincible cou¬ 
rage which have so highly distinguished the 
British army, were never more fully displayed; 
and I have the heartfelt pleasure to add, that 
they have not been clouded by any acts of in¬ 
subordination. 

“ I have the honour to enclose a copy of the 
orders I have directed to be issued, thanking 
the troops in general for their services, and 
particularizing some of the officers, who, from 
their rank or situations, were more fortunate 
than their equally gallant companions, in op-* 
portunities of distinguishing themselves, and 
serving their sovereign and their country. But 
I must not omit noticing to your lordship the 
very particular merit of Colonel Gillespie, to 
whose assistance, in planning the principal at¬ 
tack, and to whose gallantry, energy, and 
judgment in executing it, the success is greathr 
to be attributed/* 


142 


“ Thus,” to use the language of Lord Minto 
in his letter to the Earl of Liverpool, “ the 
conquest of Java was substantially accomplish¬ 
ed ; and an empire, which for two centuries 
has contributed greatly to the power, prosperity, 
and grandeur of one of the principal and most 
respected states of Europe, was wrested from 
the short usurpation of the French government, 
added to the dominion of the British crown, 
and converted, from a seat of hostile machi-r 
nation, and commercial competition, into an 
augmentation of British power and prosperity. 
For this signal, most splendid, and illustrious 
service, Great Britain was indebted to the truly 
British intrepidity of as brave an army as ever 
did honour to our country; to the professional 
skill and spirit of their officers; and to the 
wisdom, decision, and firmness of the eminent 
man who directed their courage, and led them 
to victory/* 

Before his departure from Java, the gover¬ 
nor-general signified his intention of comme¬ 
morating the conquest of Java, and the valour 
displayed in that achievement, by me4als, to 


145 

be distributed among the troops, and by erect- 
ing a monument at Calcutta to the memory of 
those who had fallen in this arduous service. 

This last design was carried into effect at the 
private expense of Lord Minto, but the former 
was taken up by the British government at 
home, of which, as well as of the approbation 
of the sovereign, proper notice was given by 
the noble Secretary of State to General Sir 
Samuel Auchmuty, in the following terms: 

“ The important result of an expedition, 
which has wrested from the enemy the only 
remaining settlement which they possessed in 
the east, and has left them without a colony in 
any part of the world, has afforded the greatest 
satisfaction to His Royal Highness. 

“ Whilst he fully appreciates the wisdom 
and prudence with which this most important 
enterprize has been planned, he is sensible that 
the splendid success which has attended it, and 
has brought it to so complete and speedy an 
issue, is principally to be ascribed to the dis¬ 
tinguished gallantry and spirit displayed by the 
army under your command, in a succession of 
the most brilliant operations, and to the jud^- 


144 

ttient and decision so conspicuously manifested 
by you, during their progress, from the first 
landing of the troops on the fourth of August, 
to the day in which the works at Cornelis were 
carried, and the whole of the French army 
finally dispersed. His Royal Highness has 
commanded me to convey to you, in the strong¬ 
est terms, his approbation of your conduct, and 
that of the brave army under your command ; 
and he designs that the high sense which he 
entertains of their services on this most im¬ 
portant occasion, may by you be made known 
to them in public orders. 

“ As it is His Royal Highness the Prince 
Regent’s intention to confer medals upon the 
officers employed on this service, in conformity 
to the principle which has of late been adopted 
with respect to the campaigns in Spain and 
Portugal, I am to desire that you will furnish 
me with the names of those officers of His 
Majesty’s land forces, and those of the East 
India Company, who have particularly distin¬ 
guished themselves.” 

On the entire surrender of Java and its de¬ 
pendencies to the British dominion, Lord Minto 


145 

and Sir Samuel Auchmuty returned to Bengal, 
leaving the civil government to the care of 
Mr. Raffles, and the direction of the military 
affairs to Colonel Gillespie. But the great ex¬ 
ertions which this brave officer had made at a 
time when the state of his health was very 
tender, and the fatigue which he underwent 
in an ardent and zealous attention to his va¬ 
rious duties, produced a fever so violent as 
nearly to baffle all medical skill. Happily, 
when the hopes of his friends were almost ex¬ 
hausted, and when the greatest stretch of scien¬ 
tific j udgment could do no more, nature prevailed 
in restoring him to the service of his country, 
and to new pursuits in the career of glory. 

The conquest which had been atchieved did 
not bring with it a state of repose to our gallant 
troops, nor of ease to their commander; for the 
utmost activity was rendered necessary, in con¬ 
sequence of the hostile disposition of the native 
princes, and the well-founded apprehension of 
a combination among them to effect the utter 
expulsion of the Europeans from the island. 
But while our military commander was em¬ 
ployed in those measures which he conceived 
L 


146 


to be expedient for the security of the colony, 
his presence was required on the island of Su¬ 
matra, where cruelties of the most atrocious 
description had been recently perpetrated on 
the Dutch factory by the sultaun, whose guilt 
received an aggravation from the circumstance 
that his family were indebted for the throne 
which they possessed to the Dutch government. 

The eldest son of this sovereign, Pangarang 
Ratoo, a prince of the most libidinous habits 
and perfidious character, in one of his nocturnal 
rambles, made an attempt upon the wife of an 
industrious Chinese, whose screams brought the 
patrole from the Dutch factory to her assist¬ 
ance ; and the guard, unconscious of the qua¬ 
lity of the ravisher, were very near taking 
him prisoner. The prince, however, plunged 
into the river, and having reached his boat, he 
was heard to threaten the utter extirpation of 
the Dutch settlement, within three days, on ac¬ 
count of the interference of their guard in prevent¬ 
ing him from committing an act of violence. This 
menace he contrived to carry into effect, by pre¬ 
vailing on his father to send an invitation to the 
Dutch Resident to come over to the palace at 


147 


Palimbang, which was imprudently accepted by 
the latter, contrary to the advice of his friends* 
The fort belonging to the factory was of suffi¬ 
cient strength, by situation, and in the number of 
its garrison, to have made a long defence; but 
availing themselves of the weakness of the 
Resident, armed Malays intruded themselves, 
one by one, in his absence, under various pre¬ 
tences; and suddenly overpowering the guard, 
seized upon all the persons whom they found 
there, as well natives as Europeans; and having 
bound them, hurried them on board the prows* 
prepared for their conveyance down the river, 
near the mouth of which they were all put to 
death. An European lady, the wife of an officer, 
not able to endure the thoughts of a separation 
from her husband, followed him on board with 
her infant, and shared his fate, after suffering 
the most shocking treatment from these mon¬ 
sters. The other unfortunate women, with 
their children, fled to the woods, where they, 
lingered out a wretched existence, naked and 
forlorn, a prey to famine, disease, and the wild 
beasts. 

The exact day on which this dreadful catas- 
l 2 


148 

trophe took place, could never be correctly 
ascertained, but from the circumstance of the 
sultaun’s refusal in November, 1811 , to re¬ 
new his relations with the government esta¬ 
blished at Batavia, and from his having pro¬ 
hibited a British detachment to advance to 
Palimbang, it is most reasonable to conjecture 
that the tragedy occurred soon after the conquest 
of Java. It is probable, indeed, that the intelli¬ 
gence of this event led the sultaun to form an 
idea of being now enabled to throw off all depend- 
ance on the government at Java, and of com¬ 
pletely exterminating the Dutch establishment. 

But whatever were the motives of this san¬ 
guinary chief in the perpetration of so perfi¬ 
dious a massacre, there was only one course to 
be adopted by the council at Batavia, on hearing 
of the outrage that had been committed upon 
the unoffending inhabitants of a settlement, 
which, as being one of the dependencies apper¬ 
taining to Java, had a claim to British protec¬ 
tion. To punish, therefore, this infamous 
treachery, an expedition was immediately fitted 
out, and sailed from Batavia on the twentieth 
of March, ISIS, under the orders of Colonel 


149 


Gillespie, to whom the sole management was 
confided. On the third of April, the fleet reach¬ 
ed Nanka Island, where it continued a week, 
while the artificers were employed on shore, 
in constructing platforms for the field pieces, in 
making coverings to shelter the troops, and in 
completing the boats intended for the passage 
up the river of Palimbang. On the tenth, the 
fleet got under weigh, and came to an anchor 
at noon, on the fifteenth, opposite the west 
channel of the river, where two days were taken 
up in getting some of the shipping over the bar. 
In the evening of the seventeenth, the greater 
part of the troops destined to proceed up the 
river were removed from the large vessels on* 
board the armed brigs and small craft; but a 
violent storm, which came on the same night, 
considerably damaged the boats, and destroyed 
the coverings which had been made with so 
much labour. The few serviceable flat boats 
that could afford any shelter to the men were 
appropriated to the field artillery, and the 
reception of such troops as could be accommo¬ 
dated in them. 

At flood tide, on the evening of the follow* 


150 


ing day, the remainder of the troops hav¬ 
ing been removed to their respective vessels, 
the whole were carried up the stream, and 
about midnight came to an anchor. The great 
distance at which the City of Palimbang is si¬ 
tuated from the entrance, and the little know¬ 
ledge which Europeans have hitherto been able 
to obtain of this country, rendered the utmost 
caution necessary in conducting the present ex¬ 
pedition. But in addition to the natural diffi¬ 
culties which were to be encountered, a very 
formidable resistance was to be expected from 
the powerful means and activity of the enemy. 
Besides the batteries at Borang, which were 
most advantageously situated for the annoyance 
of an invader, the passage of the river was ren¬ 
dered extremely perilous by fire-rafts, and nu¬ 
merous prows, together with floating batteries, 
all placed in the best order, and in constant 
readiness for active operation. 

The tyrant against whom our force was sent 
had been enabled to make ample preparations 
for his defence or flight, by the delay which 
the fleet experienced in the straits, owing to 
contrary winds and other causes. Of the op- 


151 


portunity thus afforded him, the sultaun did not 
fail to profit, with a view to both objects ; and 
whilst his plans of resistance were formed upon 
a large, combined, and extensive scale, he had 
cunning enough to provide for his personal 
safety, by removing early his women and trea¬ 
sure into the interior of the country. It was 
evident, in short, at every stage, that the con¬ 
cern in which our troops were now engaged 
was one that required the greatest judgment, 
and the most determined spirit, on the part of 
the leader, who was under the necessity of ex¬ 
ercising his own mind continually, in devising 
how to overcome new obstacles that arose in all 
directions, and that multiplied in various forms 
of difficulty and danger, as the flotilla proceeded 
up the river, where, at times, some of the 
vessels got entangled among the branches of 
trees and shrubs, which were obliged to be cut 
away. 

Early in the morning of the twentieth of 
April, an ambassador, named Pangarang Sherif, 
arrived from the sultaun of Palimbang, with an 
insidious request, to know the intentions of our 
commander in thus visiting his dominions. In 


152 


reply to this message, the colonel laconically 
observed that his business lay with the sultaun 
in person, to whom he was the bearer of certain 
propositions on the part of the British govern¬ 
ment. 

In proportion as the distance from the sea in¬ 
creased, the passage of the fleet became slower, 
and at the ebb tide, the whole were obliged to 
anchor. The next day the sultaun sent another 
messenger of high rank, and a relation of his 
own, to the colonel, with a letter, in which the 
hypocrite pretended to congratulate him on his 
arrival; and among other crafty attempts, to 
impose upon his credulity, he affected a great 
desire to live on terms of friendship with the 
English. The colonel, however, was not to be 
deceived by such professions, and coolly re¬ 
plied, that he should be at Palimbang in two 
days, where he expected to have a personal in¬ 
terview with the sultaun, to whom he had par¬ 
ticulars of the utmost importance to communi¬ 
cate : at the same time, assuring the inhabitants 
of the protection of the British government. 
While the ambassador was waiting for this 
answer, another arrived, bearing a similar epistle 


153 


from his master, and requesting an immediate 
answer respecting the real objects of the arma¬ 
ment. Both messengers returned together, and 
at sunrise on the twenty-second the flotilla 
came in sight of the batteries of Borang; but as 
the Procris sloop happened just then to get 
aground, the rest were under the necessity of 
coming to an anchor, about five miles from the 
batteries. 

For the defence of this post, it was here dis¬ 
covered, that in addition to the armed prows, a 
large Arab ship was employed, which, with the 
floating batteries, were moored across the river, 
so as to rake with their guns the whole line, 
whilst the numerous artillery on shore com¬ 
manded the entire breadth of the channel; thus 
threatening, by a concentrated fire, the utter de¬ 
struction of any force that should attempt to 
force a passage. Besides all these works of de¬ 
fence, numerous fire-rafts were placed on the 
front and flank of the batteries, ready to be 
turned adrift against our shipping: piles of 
wood were also driven into the river, defending 
the approach to the batteries in boats, while a 
strong palisade protected the rear and flanks. 


154 

At this place another messenger brought a 
letter from the sultaun, importing that he should 
be happy in seeing the commander of the ex¬ 
pedition at Palimbang; but desiring that he 
would dispense with a large force, and visit 
the capital unattended, lest the presence of so 
many foreign troops should occasion confusion 
among the inhabitants. In this proposition, the 
treacherous policy of the man was too strongly 
marked to escape detection ; and, instead of 
listening to it, Colonel Gillespie demanded an 
unmolested passage, with a hostage of distinc¬ 
tion as a security for the maintenance of good 
faith. These requisitions were not only ac¬ 
ceded to, but in addition to them, the mes¬ 
senger voluntarily offered to give up the bat¬ 
teries, and also the ship which was lying there. 
On the twenty-third, some officers proceeded 
to inspect the ship, but on their approach they 
discovered signs of resistance, accompanied by 
violent shouts from the batteries, which were 
too plainly indicative of hostility to admit of 
any farther advance with prudence. 

Things were now come to that extremity, as 
to admit of no delay ; and, therefore, Captain 


155 


Meares, the Malay interpreter, accompanied by 
the person who had been left as a hostage, pro¬ 
ceeded to Borang, for the purpose of demanding 
whether the batteries would be given up, con¬ 
formably to promise; or whether it was in¬ 
tended to resist the passage of the flotilla. 
Colonel Gillespie followed these messengers 
quickly, at the head of some detachments, in 
light boats, supported by the launches and the 
field artillery in the flat boats. This promp¬ 
titude had the desired effect; for when the 
chief pangarang, or officer, found that no ex¬ 
cuses could prevail, he surrendered the works, 
which were instantly occupied by our troops. 
Thus, Borang, the key of Palimbang, and the 
main confidence of the sultaun, fell into our 
hands on the morning of the tw T enty-fourth of 
April; and in the evening of the same day, 
the troops, being re-embarked, made way to a 
small distance : but now fires appeared in va¬ 
rious directions, and several of the rafts, con¬ 
sisting of magazines filled with combustibles, 
and fastened together, were set on flames, to 
annoy those of our vessels that had not passed 
the batteries. The wonted alacrity of British 


156 

seamen, however, succeeded in preventing this 
mischief, by cutting the rafts asunder in time, 
and thereby putting a stop to the general con¬ 
flagration which menaced our small squadron 
with destruction. Early on the next morning, 
the owner of the Arab ship arrived, intreating 
that she might be restored, which was granted. 
This man brought the intelligence, that the 
sultaun, on being informed of the surrender of 
Borang, had fled from Palimbang, which in¬ 
duced Colonel Gillespie to form the resolution 
of immediately hastening forward with the light 
boats. Whilst this arrangement was in prepa¬ 
ration, another Arab confirmed the account of 
the sultaun’s flight, with the additional news, 
that a general disorder prevailed in consequence 
of it throughout the capital, where it was re¬ 
ported that a massacre of the wealthy Chinese 
and other inhabitants was intended that very 
night. The colonel, therefore, without hesi¬ 
tation, determined to proceed with the Arab 
chief in his canoe, accompanied by Captain 
Meares and a Spanish gentleman, who acted as 
Malay interpreters. In that and another canoe 
were distributed seven grenadiers of the fifty- 


157 

ninth regiment; and these were followed by 
Captain Bowen of the navy, Major Butler, 
Deputy Adjutant-General, and Major Thorn, 
Deputy Quarter-Master-General, in the gig 
belonging to the Phoenix* and ten other gre¬ 
nadiers of the above regiment in the barge of 
the same ship, with Lieutenant Monday of the 
navy, and Lieutenant Forest of the fifty-ninth ; 
the remaining troops under Lieutenant-Colonel 
M’Leod having orders to follow with all speed. 
The distance was twenty miles, so that it was 
quite dark when the party reached old Pa- 
limbang. The canoes, with the colonel, having 
gained considerably on the other boats, were 
now completely out of sight, when the report 
pf a signal gun, fired by the enemy, excited 
great alarm and anxiety among those who were 
in the rear. A horrible yell and shrieking was 
next heard, and conflagrations were perceived, 
extending along the banks of the river for the 
space of above seven miles. By the redoubled 
exertions of the crews in the boats, they for¬ 
tunately succeeded in coming up to the assist¬ 
ance of the few who had taken the lead all the 
way, which junction was formed at a most im- 


158 

portant and critical moment; the particulars of 
which, as already given to the public in another 
Work, it will be necessary here to repeat. 

To paint the horrors of the scene that pre¬ 
sented itself to view in proper colours, or to 
attempt an expression of the sensation it was 
calculated to excite, would be a difficult un¬ 
dertaking. Romance never described any thing 
near so hideous—nor has the imagination ever 
embodied representations equally appalling 
with those realities which here struck the 
senses; nor will the undaunted act that gained 
possession of the fort, the palace, and the bat¬ 
teries, be scarcely credited. Undismayed in 
the face of numerous bodies of armed men, Co¬ 
lonel Gillespie stepped boldly on shore, at eight 
o’clock at night; and with those who had ac¬ 
companied him in the canoe, and the seven 
grenadiers, marched through a multitude of 
Arabs and Malays, whose formidable weapons, 
steeped in poison, reflected the light of the 
torches. 

Tremendous battlements, with immense 
gates, leading from one vast area to another, 
received the small party, and presented to them 


159 

the frightful spectacle of human blood, stilt 
reeking and flowing on the pavement. The 
massy gates closed upon them, and the en¬ 
sanguined court-yards through which they 
passed appeared like the passage to a slaughter¬ 
house. 

While they were in this dreadful situation, a 
Malay, who had passed through the crowd, ap¬ 
proached the colonel, and was walking close by 
his side, when a large double-edged knife was 
secretly put into his hands by one of his coun¬ 
trymen. It was a dark, stormy night, and a 
ray of lightning, at the very instant when the 
fellow was pushing the knife up his loose 
sleeve for concealment, discovered the weapon 
to the keen eye of the colonel, who, turning 
round, had the man seized, and thus happily 
frustrated the murderous intent. The weapon 
was found, but the Malay contrived, by 
mingling with the crowd, to effect his escape. 

The palace exhibited a melancholy mixture of 
cruelty and devastation, surpassing that which 
had already met the eye. Murder had here been 
succeeded by rapine; and while the place was 
completely ransacked, the floors were literally 


160 


clotted with gore. On every side the most 
woeful spectacles were to be seen, and they 
were rendered still more awful by the glare of 
the surrounding conflagration, and vivid gleams 
of lightning which flashed amidst rolling peals 
of thunder. The devouring flames, which con¬ 
tinued to spread destruction, in spite of the 
rain that poured down in torrents, had now 
reached the outer buildings of the palace, and 
threatened the quarter where the English party 
had taken their station. The crackling of 
bamboos, resembling the discharge of musketry 
—the tumbling in of burning roofs, with a tre¬ 
mendous crash—and the near approach of the 
fire, added to the surrounding danger of a hos¬ 
tile multitude, altogether, gave a fearful aspect 
to the condition of our little band, which con¬ 
sisted only of seventeen grenadiers, the officers 
already mentioned, and a few seamen. Having 
carefully reconnoitred by torch-light the inte¬ 
rior of the palace-court, and ordered all the 
avenues, except one, to be barricadoed. Colonel 
Gillespie placed the grenadiers at the principal 
entrance, and the strictest guard was preserved. 
Soon after midnight, Major Trench, wu*''about 


161 

sixty men of the eighty-ninth regiment, arrived ; 
and the remaining part of the advance, under 
Lieutenant-Colonel M‘Leod, joined the little 
garrison early in the morning. Thus,, an unpre¬ 
cedented act of daring enterprize, judiciously 
conceived, and rapidly executed, gained the 
possession of the fort and batteries, defended by 
two hundred and forty-two pieces of cannon, 
without the loss of a man. 

The sudden arrival of a few British, at a late 
hour in the evening, struck a panic into the ad¬ 
herents of the sultaun, who, believing that the 
numbers were more formidable, immediately 
dispersed, and thereby relieved the town from 
the misery with which it had been threatened 
by the barbarity of its chief. 

The characteristic humanity of the British 
appeared on this occasion, in the measures that 
were adopted to secure tranquillity ; and these 
were carried into effect so promptly, that the in¬ 
habitants, recovering their spirits, assumed con¬ 
fidence, and many who had fled into the woods 
returned to their houses. To the mass of the 
people, this revolution was peculiarly grateful, 
as it relieved them from a tyranny which was 


M, 


162 

become insupportable ; for, as the injustice of 
the sultaun knew no bounds, so his cruelty was 
regardless of its objects. The ruin that marked 
his flight sufficiently evinced his total want of 
principle as well as of feeling, since carnage and 
rapine did not affect strangers and enemies 
merely, but his own people, who had a natural 
claim to his sympathy and protection. 

In such an exigency, therefore, it not only 
became a right, but the duty of the victors to 
supply the vacated government in a manner 
best calculated to secure internal tranquillity 
and fidelity with regard to foreign relations. 
Accordingly, on the twenty-eighth of April, 
when the British flag was hoisted under a royal 
salute, Pangerang Adipatti, brother of the sul- 
taun, returned to Palimbang, on the invitation 
of the commander of the forces. This prince 
bore an excellent character for gentleness and 
liberality, a proof of which appeared in his 
exertions to prevent the massacre of the Dutch 
factory. On all accounts, therefore, he was 
considered as the most proper person to fill the 
vacant throne, and as such he was treated on 
his arrival by Colonel Gillespie and the officers. 


163 

of his staff. But though the establishment of 
a legitimate authority at this time was abso¬ 
lutely necessary to prevent anarchy, the ma¬ 
nagement of the business required no small 
portion of address towards chiefs who were 
distinguished by craft and treachery. These 
men displayed, on the present occasion, as 
much refined cunning, and contrived as many 
schemes of delay, as would have characterized 
a convention of European diplomatists. Though 
the power of the late sultann was no longer 
admitted as a matter of question, it was known 
that he and his son had still their secret par- 
tizans; and from the influence of the riches 
which had been carried off, there was every 
reason to apprehend that the number of these 
adherents would increase to the equal injury of 
the new monarch and the people, when de¬ 
prived of the protection afforded by the presence 
of the British armament. To counteract the 
evil, and prevent the danger, arrangements were 
entered into, and nearly brought to a happy 
termination, when a sudden mischance threw 
all into confusion, and almost annihilated the 
hopes of those who had the general welfare at 
M 2 


164 

heart. On the third of May, it was reported 
that a quantity of arms had been secretly con¬ 
veyed into a house, which afterwards proved to 
be that of Pangerang Adipatti. The soldiers, 
who were sent to examine the premises, having 
entered abruptly, found a party of chiefs there, 
assembled in consultation on the intended pro¬ 
ceedings for the settlement of the government. 
These persons were extremely surprised at this 
intrusion; and one of them, drawing his criss, 
struck at the officer of the guard, but missed his 
aim, and received the blow of a sabre in return, 
one of the soldiers at the same time riinning him 
through with his bayonet. In this unfortunate 
fray the Pangerang, with his friends, fled from 
the house, while the European party returned 
to their quarters, bearing, as trophies of victory, 
spears and crisses highly enriched and orna¬ 
mented, but which they were compelled in¬ 
stantly to carry back when the unlucky mis¬ 
take was discovered. The Malay chief, who 
lay weltering in his blood, received also the 
best medical assistance that could be afforded; 
but his wounds were so serious, that he died 
shortly afterwards, 


165 


Colonel Gillespie, deeply affected by this 
unfortunate transaction, immediately took those 
steps which were best adapted to restore con¬ 
fidence and tranquillity. He, therefore, caused 
proclamations to be issued in explanation of the 
affair, and sent a letter to the Pangerang Adi- 
patti, who returned the same evening to his 
house, where he was visited by the colonel and 
his staff, which allayed the fears that had been 
excited, and gave general satisfaction. The 
terms of a treaty having been settled, the inau¬ 
guration of the sovereign was fixed for the 
fourteenth of May, which, being the day of the 
new moon, was considered as the most for¬ 
tunate for the commencement of a new reign. 

At the time appointed, Adipatti landed in 
front of the palace, and was received by Lieu¬ 
tenant-Colonel Alexander M‘Leod and his suite, 
who conducted him to the gate of the inner 
court, where, being met by Colonel Gillespie, 
he was led by him to the public hall. Here a 
throne was erected, covered with a canopy of 
yellow silk, the distinctive colour of royalty 
among these people; and on the left was placed 
a couch of crimson velvet, on which the colonel 


166 

and the monarch seated themselves. The Eu¬ 
ropeans having taken their station on the left 
of the couch, and the principal natives being 
seated on the ground, the following proclama¬ 
tion was read aloud in the Malay language: 

“ The late sultaun, Ratoo Mahmoud Bad- 
ruddin, having forfeited his right to the sove¬ 
reignty of Palimbang by various acts of rapine, 
treachery, and inhumanity, particularly the 
murder of the persons belonging to the Dutch 
factory, the plunder of their property, and the 
demolition of their fort, contrary to the laws of 
nations, and his own solemn engagements with 
the Dutch., to whose rights the English Com¬ 
pany have succeeded, by the cession of Java, 
and its dependencies; and whereas the said 
sultaun has also abdicated his crown by flight, 
the commander of the British forces, vested 
with full powers to that effect by the govern¬ 
ment of Java, hereby declares Mahmoud Bad- 
ruddin to be deposed from the throne of this 
kingdom. Moreover, the said commander of 
the forces, considering the virtues of Pangerang 
Adipatti, and the love manifested towards him by 
the inhabitants of this country, as well the 


167 

natives as the Arab and Chinese settlers, has, 
agreeable to his instructions, chosen the said 
Pangerang Adipatti to fill the vacant throne, 
subject to the confirmation of the government 
of Java, and of the supreme government of 
India. The said Pangerang Adipatti is there¬ 
fore hereby proclaimed the true and lawful so¬ 
vereign of Palimbang and its dependencies, by 
the style and title of Sultann Ratoo Ahmed 
Nujmuddin, and all the people of this kingdom 
are enjoined to yield him obedience.” 

Besides the important object of providing for 
the order and security of this nation, our com¬ 
mander had another case that required at this 
time the exercise of his prudence and firmness. 
The Chinese residents at Palimbang, a people 
remarkable for their pacific and industrious 
character, had already suffered so much from 
the rapacity of the Malays, that it was reason¬ 
able to dread the renewal of their wrongs on 
the departure of the British forces. As these 
people were formerly under the protection of 
the Dutch factory, they had a peculiar claim 
to our interference in their favour, independ¬ 
ently of the general interests of humanity, 


168 

which laid upon our commander an obligation 
to shield, by every means in his power, the 
honest and helpless from robbery and oppression. 
Conformably to this principle of justice, there¬ 
fore, a treaty was formed, solemnly and ex¬ 
plicitly binding the new government to maintain 
inviolably the persons and property of the se¬ 
veral classes and denominations therein spe¬ 
cified. This salutary proceeding being deter¬ 
mined, and the instrument ratified, the inter¬ 
preter addressed the assembly, and demanded 
“ whether it was their wish that Pangerang 
Adipatti should reign over them to which 
they gave their assent by loud acclamation. 

Colonel Gillespie then taking the sovereign 
by the hand, respectfully placed him in the 
throne; and immediately on taking his seat, a 
royal salute was fired from our artillery, while 
the standard of the sultaun was displayed on 
the palace, in the room of the British flag, 
which had been regularly hoisted ever since the 
place was in our possession. 

When the sovereign had received and re¬ 
turned the salutations of the audience, Co^ 
Jonel Gillespie addressed him by an inter* 


169 

preter, briefly stating the causes which had 
occasioned this revolution in the government, 
and concluding in these emphatic terms:— 

<s May your reign be prosperous and happy! 
May you contribute, by your goodness and 
justice, to the happiness and welfare of your 
subjects ; and may they have reason to bless 
the nation that has placed you on the throne 
of the City of Safety !” This last expression is 
the favourite appellation by which Palimbang 
is distinguished among the Malays, and by 
which it is generally denominated in their his¬ 
torical writings. 

The ceremony of the installation being finish¬ 
ed, the colonel conducted the sultaun to the 
stairs, where his barge was in readiness to re¬ 
ceive him ; and when the boat put off from the 
shore, the vessels, which were decorated with 
the colours of all nations, fired a royal salute. 

On the sixteenth, the British commander, 
and a large party of officers, supped with the 
sultaun, who took possession of his palace the 
day following, after the embarkation of the 
troops. 

Besides the advantages resulting to the Eu- 


170 

ropean settlements in these seas, and the se¬ 
curity afforded to the foreigners trading under 
their protection, the East India Company ob¬ 
tained by the success of this expedition an 
accession of territory in the cession of the island 
of Banca, and its dependencies, in perpetuity. 
Accordingly, the colonel, having taken formal 
possession of Banca on the twentieth of May, 
issued a public proclamation, concluding in 
these terms: “ I do also will and command that 
this island shall be henceforward named Duke 
of York’s Island, in honour of his Royal High¬ 
ness the Commander-in-chief of his Britannic 
Majesty’s Forces; that Minto shall be the ca¬ 
pital of the said island, and called Minto, in 
honour of the Right Honourable the Governor- 
General of all India; that the fort now building 
near Minto shall be named Fort Nugent, in 
honour of his Excellency Sir George Nugent, 
Commander-in-chief of all the land forces ser¬ 
ving in the East Indies; and that Klabut Bay, 
or Harbour, on the north-east side of the island, 
shall be called Port Wellington, in honour of 
General Lord Viscount Wellington, of the Bri¬ 
tish army.’" 


- 171 

The commercial importance of this acquisi¬ 
tion was, no doubts very great, for Banca yields 
most of the tin that supplies the Chinese mar¬ 
ket; and the adjacent island of Billiton, which 
at the same time came under our dominion, is 
valuable for the steel used by the Malays in the 
manufacture of arms and tools. Another ma¬ 
terial benefit arising from the possession of 
Banca, was the protection hereby afforded to 
trade and navigation, in depriving the pirates 
of a place of retreat and rendezvous, where they 
had been long accustomed to assemble, under 
the auspices of the sultaun of Palimbang. It 
is, however, to be lamented, that the advan¬ 
tages which were promised by these additions 
to our eastern territories were sadly lessened, 
in consequence of the unhealthiness of the cli¬ 
mate, particularly at Fort Nugent, the situation 
of which seemed to be most happy in all re¬ 
spects; but, contrary to human expectation, it 
proved a grave to many esteemed officers, as 
well as private soldiers. 

Colonel Gillespie left this place, with his 
staff, on the twenty-second of May, in a small 
schooner; and, after a perilous passage, arrived 


172 

on the first of June at Batavia, from whence, 
five days afterwards, he proceeded to Samarang, 
whither the troops of the expedition had orders 
to follow with all possible dispatch. The ex¬ 
istence of the European power on the island of 
Java was at this time in imminent danger of 
being annihilated, and the most vigorous ex¬ 
ertions were requisite not only to preserve the 
colony, but the lives of the settlers, and those 
who were under their protection. 

A combination of the native princes had been 
for some time secretly forming to effect this 
deadly object; and though some of these men 
were radically hostile to each other, they had 
no hesitation in burying their private feuds for 
a while, the better to accomplish the design of 
exterminating all the foreigners. At the head 
of this confederacy stood the sultaun of Ma- 
taram, whose residence was at Djoejocarta, in 
the centre of the island, and at a moderate 
distance from Samarang. This turbulent chief 
was solely indebted for the sovereignty which 
he enjoyed to the Dutch, who originally aided 
him in his rebellion against the Emperor of 
Solo, and by their powerful] influence procured 


173 

the establishment of his independence. Not* 
withstanding, however, the obligation which 
he owed to these people, the ungrateful sultaun 
endeavoured to effect the extermination of his 
benefactors: and so marked was his enmity, 
that General Daendels undertook an expedition 
against him; but being apprehensive of an at* 
tack by the English, he thought it most prudent 
to compromise matters for the present; and a$ 
the sultaun, on his part, was not thoroughly 
prepared, he consented to pay a large tribute to 
the government of Batavia. The enmity of this 
prince did not abate by the humiliation to which 
he had been driven ; but, on the contrary, it 
rankled in his vengeful mind ; and the absence 
of our commander, with a large force in Su¬ 
matra, was seized upon by him as most favour¬ 
able to his projects. His exertions were so 
successful in bringing the other chiefs to a cor¬ 
dial co-operation in his views, that even his 
old enemy, the Emperor of Solo, for a season 
laid aside his resentment, and gave his coun¬ 
tenance to the coalition. 

Such was the slate of affairs when our com¬ 
mander returned from Palimbang ; but the only 


174 

part of the force that arrived at this time con¬ 
sisted of a company of grenadiers belonging to 
the fifty-ninth regiment, which came in the 
Phcenix frigate, by the direct passage; while 
the remainder of the fleet, by going round the 
Island of Banca, and passing over to Borneo, 
were delayed a month. This was a vexatious 
loss under such circumstances; but the evil of 
procrastination being infinitely dangerous, it 
was resolved to move what troops could be 
collected towards Djoejocarta, that in case 
hostilities should become unavoidable, the con¬ 
federation might, if possible, be crushed in the 
beginning. 

The commander of the forces, accompanied 
by the lieutenant-governor, came before that 
place on the evening of the seventeenth of 
June; and the former having received intelli¬ 
gence of the active preparations of the sultaun, 
went out to reconnoitre, in person, at the head 
of fifty dragoons. After making several detours, 
the party fell in with a large body of the 
sultaun’s horse; but as no intention was formed 
of acting offensively, our interpreter received 
instructions to address these people in an 


175 

amicable manner, to prevail upon them to re- 
turn to the crattan, or Palace of Djoejocarta. 
But neither solicitations nor even menaces 
could induce them to withdraw, and some 
stones were hurled at our soldiers from slings, 
which these people use with great skill. 

At length, towards dark, they consented to 
retire, but on moving off, they suddenly threw 
their spears at our men, by which a sergeant and 
four dragoons were wounded. This treacherous 
act was followed by several attacks during the 
night, which obliged our soldiers to cut their 
way through the surrounding multitudes, with 
the loss of one man killed and one wounded. 
Still, being unwilling to proceed to extremities, 
the lieutenant-governor sent a messenger to the 
sultaun, with proposals fora negociation, which 
met with a haughty refusal and defiance. 

Thus, it was evident, that the peace of the 
colony depended solely upon the success of our 
arms; and though our troops were but few in 
number, the greatest confidence could be placed 
in their intrepidity. The force already as¬ 
sembled here consisted of part of the four¬ 
teenth regiment of foot, part of the royal light 


176 

infantry, and the third volunteer battalion; a 
portion of artillery, and two troops of the twenty- 
second dragoons. The remainder, with the 
principal supply of advance, under the com¬ 
mand of Lieutenant-Colonel Alexander M‘Leod, 
were expected the same night. 

It should be observed in this place, that when 
the Dutch established themselves in the best 
part of this island, they stipulated with the 
native princes for the erection of forts near the 
respective capitals, which gave the Europeans 
a commanding influence over those places. One 
of these stood in front of the Crattan of 
Djoejocarta ; and when the messenger returned 
with the unfavourable answer of the sultaun, a 
fire was immediately opened from the fort, 
which was returned as quickly on the part of 
the enemy. 

This crattan, constituting the residence of 
the sultaun and his court, comprehends a space 
of near three miles, and is surrounded by a 
broad, wet ditch, with drawbridges, a thick 
and high rampart with bastions, and defended 
by about one hundred pieces of cannon. 
Within are numerous squares and court-yards, 


177 

enclosed with high walls, extremely strong, and 
capable of defence. A double row of cannon 
protected the principal square in front; besides 
which, it was flanked with batteries, lately 
erected, to the right and left. These for¬ 
midable works were manned by seventeen thou¬ 
sand regular troops, whilst an armed population 
of above one hundred thousand in number 
occupied the adjacent campongs for many miles 
round, and along the roads. 

The Dutch fort, situated about eight hun¬ 
dred yards from the crattan, was so ill con¬ 
structed, as to be hardly adapted for any other 
purpose than that of a depot for military stores, 
the supply of which at this time was but 
scanty. 

A depot of powder belonging to the enemy 
blew up soon after the commencement of 
the firing; and the same thing occurred on our 
side, by which several persons were severely 
scorched and lacerated. This last explosion 
set fire to some of the buildings in the fort, but 
it was quickly got under, and the cannonade 
continued. Parties of horse were sent out to 
scour the country, that, by keeping the enemy 

N 


178 


employed, theymightbe prevented from impeding 
the advance of the detachment under Lieutenant- 
Colonel M‘Leod, then on the march from Sala- 
tiga. So confident was the sultaun of being 
able to overwhelm our small force, that he sent 
out a flag of truce the same evening, demand¬ 
ing an unconditional surrender; and, indeed, 
considering the extreme disparity of numbers 
that were opposed to each other in this contest, 
his arrogance was natural and in character. But 
our inferiority in some respects was abundantly 
compensated in steadiness and valour, a proof of 
which appeared the same night, when a small 
division of the Bengal light infantiy, under Major 
Dalton, was attacked without effect four times 
successively, by the enemy in the Dutch town 
between the Fort and theCrattan. On the high 
road by which Colonel M‘Leod and his detach¬ 
ment had to march, were numerous parties 
employed in destroying the bridges, and devising 
obstacles to impede their progress. Our dragoons 
had frequent skirmishes with these parties; but 
the country was so completely overspread by the 
enemy, that it was almost impossible to send a 
messenger to the advancing forces. Colonel 


179 

M‘Leod offered a reward to any man who would 
carry an order to Captain Byers, commanding a 
detachment of royal artillery, and who was then 
a day's march behind. This desperate service 
was undertaken by John 0‘Brien, a private in 
the Madras horse artillery, who galloped through 
the midst of the enemy’s parties, delivered his 
message, and returned without injury: for 
which he was deservedly rewarded by the 
commander-in-chief with public thanks and a 
gold medal. 

On the morning of the nineteenth of June, 
the troops under Colonel M‘Leod reached head 
quarters; but the long marches which they had 
made, and the excessive fatigue they had endur¬ 
ed, by being much exposed in that intensely hot 
climate, rendered some rest indispensable. In 
the mean time, however, the cannonade was con¬ 
tinued, and the most active operations were 
carried on to harass the enemy, by setting fire to 
their camps. 

In the evening, all the troops were ordered 
into the fort, which had the effect of deceiving 
the sultaun and his people into a belief that 
no immediate attack was intended on the 
n 2 


ISO 

crattan. But as the capture of this place became 
now urgently necessary to prevent the insurrection 
which was about to take place in various parts of 
the island, orders were issued to prepare for the 
assault, the plan of which was framed in so 
masterly a style, as to give almost an assurance 
of success to the brave and undaunted men 
who were entrusted with the execution of it. 
About two hours before the dawn of day, 
Lieutenant-Colonel Dewar, with the troops 
ynder his direction, consisting of part of the 
Bengal light infantry, and the third volunteer 
battalion, in conjunction with the corps of 
Prince Prangwedona, proceeded by a circuitous 
course to dislodge a body of the enemy on the 
south side of the crattan, and then to force an 
entrance in by the south gate ; whilst at the 
principal one on the north a diversion should 
be making under Major Grant. The main 
attack was entrusted to Lieutenant-Colonel Wat¬ 
son, who had a part of the fourteenth regiment, 
part of the Bengal light infantry, and Lieute¬ 
nant-Colonel M^eod’s column of grenadiers of 
the fifty-ninth regiment, flank companies, and 
the rifle companies of the seventy-eighth made 


181 

up the main attack. In order to reach the point 
of escalade, this column had to move round the 
north-east bastion, and close under the walls; 
in doing which, the most profound silence was 
kept; and thus, the enemy being taken un¬ 
awares, the column gained the spot for placing 
the ladders undiscovered. But just at this mo¬ 
ment the alarm being given in the north bastion, 
a shower of grape was poured from the guns, by 
which several of our men were killed and 
wounded. This, however, was so far from in¬ 
timidating the gallant band, that it only served 
to increase their energies, and to redouble their 
efforts. Conducted by Lieutenant-Colonel 
Watson, the column, headed by the grenadiers 

of the fourteenth, under Captain Johnston, passed 

over the ditch, and escaladed the ramparts on the 
north-east face, amidst showers of grape shot 
that were poured down upon them. But the 
fire was soon silenced by the rapid movement 
of the grenadiers, and the remainder of the same 
regiment, supported by the sharp-shooters, who 
sent their shot so completely into the embra- 
zures, as to drive the enemy from their guns. 

Colonel Watson pushed along the top of the 


182 


ramparts for the prince’s gate, on the north face, 
while a party of sepoys crossed the ditch at the 
angle of the bastion that was the first object of 
attack, but which had been rendered defenceless 
by the explosion of its powder magazine. Then 
passing along the basin at the foot of the ram¬ 
part to the same gate, they let down the draw¬ 
bridge, for the admission of the column under 
Lieutenant-Colonel M‘Leod. 

It was with difficulty that the prince’s gate 
could be blown open, on account of its strength; 
but while this was doing, the troops having 
passed the ditch, ascended upon the shoulders 
of one another through the embrazures, and 
having reinforced the column of Lieutenant- 
Colonel Watson, they speedily cleared the ram¬ 
parts. While all this was going on in the 
enemy’s works, a brisk fire was kept up by our 
fort upon the interior of the Crattan. Having 
taken the south-east bastion at the point of the 
bayonet, after enduring a tremendous fire of 
grape shot, which swept the ramparts, our 
troops rushed along the south face, where they 
had to encounter the enemy in great numbers. 
But though the conflict was desperate, our men 


183 

succeeded in opening the gate for Lieutenant- 
Colonel Dewar’s column, who arrived at the 
same moment, after defeating, in the suburbs, 
the forces of Tomogong Senrat Deningrat, who 
fell in the action. The whole column now 
pushed on for the west gate; turning, as they 
went on, the captured guns against the enemy 
in the surrounding campongs, which contri¬ 
buted much to the dispersion of those troops: 
after which, the pieces were dismounted and 
thrown into the ditch. During these opera¬ 
tions, the commander-in-chief had so disposed 
the cavalry and horse artillery in parties, to 
scour the country, and the roads leading from 
the Crattan, as effectually to cut off the fu¬ 
gitives in every direction. The principal object 
in this was to secure the person of the Sultaun 
of Mataram, as well as to prevent the escape of 
his principal adherents. By the judicious plan 
thus adopted, and the vigorous activity of those 
who were employed in carrying it into effect, 
the design succeeded, and thus a long and de¬ 
sultory warfare was prevented. The hereditary 
prince delivered himself up at the west gate; 
but the enemy still held out at the north-west 


184 

bastion, from whence, however, they were soon 
expelled. Their ultimate resort was a mosque, 
on the outside of the fort ; and here they made 
a stand for some time, keeping up a brisk fire 
over the walls and through the openings, from 
one of which Colonel Gillespie received a se¬ 
vere wound in the arm. 

The desperate and unequal conflict having 
lasted three hours, ended in a complete victory, 
and the surrender of the sultaun, which, of 
course, dissolved the confederacy, and saved 
the colony. 

The loss of the enemy could not be accurately 
ascertained, but from the immense heaps of 
dead which lay on the ramparts, and in every 
gateway, it must have been prodigious; while 
on the part of the British, notwithstanding the 
difficulties which they had to encounter, and 
the resistance they experienced, it amounted 
only to one hundred killed and wounded. 

If the valour of our troops on this signal oc¬ 
casion was brilliantly displayed in the firmness 
vvith which they braved death on every side, 
and surmounted all the obstacles that labour, 
numbers, and rage could throw in their vay, 


185 

that glory was heightened by the moderation 
and generosity which distinguished their con¬ 
duct in the hour of triumph. This forbearance 
was, indeed, the more remarkable and merito¬ 
rious, from the consideration of the provoca¬ 
tions to revenge which had been wantonly 
given by the enemy, who invariably treated 
with savage inhumanity such unfortunate per¬ 
sons as the chance of war threw into their 
hands. The British soldiers had witnessed 
many shocking instances of the brutal ferocity 
of these people during the present contest; yet, 
while the spectacle of their mangled and tor¬ 
tured comrades was fresh in the recollection of 
our gallant countrymen, they committed no 
outrage upon the persons and property of the 
vanquished. 

The Sultaun of Mataram, as justice required, 
was deposed, and sent in exile to Prince of 
Wales's Island ; but the sovereignty was conti¬ 
nued in the person of his son, the hereditary 
prince, by the title of Hamang Kubuana the 
Third. Among other acquisitions which the 
British obtained by this decisive blow, was the 
cession of the rich province of Codoe, and 


186 

some districts containing the most valuable 
forests of teak in the island. The more ef¬ 
fectually to prevent any future attack, a third 
power was established, by creating Nunga de 
Suma, brother of the late sultaun, a sovereign 
prince, with considerable estates. Thus, the 
once potent and extensive Empire of Mataram, 
formerly enjoyed exclusively by the Soosoohoo 
nan, is now divided into three separate principa¬ 
lities; and the favourite project of the native 
chiefs to destroy the European settlement in Java 
terminated in the full and apparently permanent 
establishment of that dominion over the island. 

For this important service, the consequences 
of which cannot fail to prove of the most essen¬ 
tial benefit to successive generations, the army 
and its leader received the thanks of the Lieu¬ 
tenant-Governor of Java, of the Governor- 
General in Council, and of Sir George Nugent, 
Commander-in-Chief in India. At this time it 
was known that the gallant officer, whose promp¬ 
titude had produced these momentous results, 
was promoted to the rank of Major-General, 
his appointment having taken place on the first 
day of that very year. 


187 

The general orders of the commander-in-chief 
very properly combined the two services of the 
Paiimbang expedition and the one recently per¬ 
formed; on both of which the language is so very 
forcible and honourable, that it would be improper 
to pass it over without extracting what more par¬ 
ticularly concerns the subject of the present 
memoir. 

rc His Excellency the Commander-in-Chief 
in India, having, while at a distance from the 
seat of government, received from Major-Gene¬ 
ral Gillespie, commander of the forces on the 
island of Java, the official papers of the success 
of the expedition to Paiimbang, and of the 
glorious result of the assault on the strong 
fortifications of Djoejocarta, on the twentieth of 
June, ISIS, offers his cordial congratulations to 
Major-General Gillespie, and all the officers and 
troops who had the honour of serving under 
his personal command on both those important 
occasions, but more particularly at the ever- 
memorable assault of Djoejocarta. 

cf Although the feeble use which the enemy 
made of the extensive means of defence and 
annoyance at Paiimbang deprived the expedition 


138 


against its barbarous prince of that character of 
brilliancy which peculiarly belongs to active 
operations in the field, the commander-in-chief 
considers the troops employed in that difficult 
service as highly deserving of his approbation 
and thanks, for their exact discipline, patient 
endurance of fatigue and privation, and forward¬ 
ness on every occasion which seemed likely to 
require their active exertions. 

“ The personal intrepidity and presence of 
mind displayed by Major-General Gillespie on 
this occasion, by which the lives and property 
of a numerous population were rescued from 
impending destruction, and placed under the 
safeguard of British humanity and good faith, 
reflect additional lustre on the high reputation 
which that officer had already acquired in his 
distinguished career of public service. 

“ Nor are the wise and prudent arrangements, 
by which Major-General Gillespie accomplish¬ 
ed in a short time all the important objects which 
government had proposed by the expedition 
to Palimbang, less deserving of the Commander- 
in-chiefs public approbation and applause. 
Whether the commander-in-chief views the 


189 

well-timed promptitude and decision with which 
the resolution to assault the crattan of Djoejocarta 
was adopted; the judgment with which the 
attack was planned ; the order, rapidity, and 
gallantry with which it was executed by the 
brave troops, who, emulating the example of 
their leader, and relying on his established 
character and talents, and their own valour and 
discipline, disregarded numbers superior be¬ 
yond all proportion in enduring warfare, and 
surmounted every obstacle to complete success; 
his Excellency must ever consider the storming 
of the crattan of Djoejocarta by the troops 
under Major-General Gillespie, as ranking 
amongst the foremost of those great atchieve-^ 
ments which adorn the military annals of our 
country, and have increased its power and repu¬ 
tation in Asia. 

" The commander-in-chief in India desires^ 
to offer the tribute of his warmest thanks and 
applause to Major-General Gillespie, command¬ 
ing the forces in Java, for the energy, skill, and 
valour, evinced by him in the conduct of the 
arduous service in question, the successful 
termination of which has supexadded to all the 


190 

splendour of heroism the substantial advantage 
of establishing the British supremacy over Java, 
and the tranquillity of the island, on the solid 
foundations of justice and power*” 

But though these brilliant services received 
the most honourable marks of public approba¬ 
tion, and will descend to distant ages in the 
page of history, they added little to the fortune 
of the brave man who performed them. After 
securing the conquest of Java, and extending 
our dominion in the eastern "seas, by his deter- 
minedValour and liberal policy, the major-general 
found his reward only in an increase of glory, 
and the satisfaction resulting from a conscientious 
discharge of his duty. Leaving to those who 
shared not in the dangers attending the acqui¬ 
sition to profit by the advantages which it pro- 
cured, he devoted his constant attention to those 
objects only, which appeared, in his view, best 
calculated to advance the interests of the colony* 
It happened, however, with him, as it often has 
done to other military commanders of high 
spirit and disinterested character, to be thwarted 
and misrepresented, where it was reasonable to 
have expected cordial support and liberal con- 


191 

fidence. Having expressed an opinion unfavour¬ 
able to the resolution of others on some matters 
of local policy, though without attempting to 
prevent the measure, he thereby gave offence 
to the parties who had an interest in the pro¬ 
ceeding. An unsuccessful expedition, that was 
undertaken contrary to his advice, and in which 
he had no concern, against the piratical state 
of Sambas, on the coast of Borneo, contributed 
to the mortifications which the major-general 
was doomed to undergo. He had earnestly 
remonstrated on the impropriety of such an 
enterprize during a bad monsoon, and with 
means inadequate to the object; notwithstanding 
which/ it was pertinaciously adopted : but the 
failure, while it confirmed the correctness of his 
judgment, only served, at the same time, to 
multiply his vexations. From the first moment 
that he became a member of the government, 
he made it his ardent and constant endeavour 

to promote the benefit of the island; and in 

% 

doing this, he incurred considerable private 
.expense, which was the more cheerfully borne 
when he perceived the good effects produced 
by his labours among the inhabitants. It was 


192 

extremely natural that a mind so enlarged 
should have looked for similar zeal and gene¬ 
rosity in those who had been associated with 
him by the supreme authority of India. Unfor¬ 
tunately, the military commander in Java did 
not meet with that congeniality of sentiment 
which the public good required, and to which, 
by his own candour and readiness to oblige, he 
was fairly entitled. Consultations were held 
without his knowledge, and measures carried in 
direct opposition to his judgment, even in the 
department which may be properly said to have 
been exclusively his own. The regulations 
and improvements which were conceived by 
him essentially necessary to the comfort, and 
even the health of the troops, were obstinately 
rejected. Thus, for the want of convenient 
buildings to accommodate the European soldiers 
in a climate proverbially fatal, many valuable 
lives, it is to be feared, were cut off, that 
might have been prolonged for the benefit of 
their country. Another measure which the 
general had at heart, connected with his pro¬ 
fessional objects, was the erection of proper 
depots for the security of military stores ; but, 


193 

though the loss sustained by spoliation and da¬ 
mage rendered such a proposal unobjectionable, 
it met with the fate attending every thing that 
had the welfare of the army and the satisfaction 
of its commander in view* But this was not 
all, for the humane disposition of the general 
extended itself towards the native troops, who 
had been raised for the service of the colony 
within the island, and whose good opinion and 
fidelity it was the interest of the Europeans to 
conciliate. Wisely, therefore, did our com¬ 
mander recommend an attention to the comforts 
and regular payments of these corps; but strange 
to say, in this also he experienced resistance or 
neglect; and the natural consequence was a 
weakening of that attachment which it was so 
much our policy to have cherished by courtesy 
and liberality. 

At a period when these, and various other dis¬ 
agreeable circumstances, obviously designed to 
render the situation of the general unpleasant, 
were obtruded upon his feelings, ashockingcatas- 
trophe occurred in the eastern part of the island, 
which evinced the necessity of an imposing 
military force in a country whose native inha- 


o 


194 

bitants are radically hostile to the European 
name. 

In the summer of 1813 , a party of English 
officers went to reside some time for their health 
and amusement at Probolingo, near Sourabaya, 
a place celebrated for the salubrity of the air, 
and the pleasantness of the situation. The 
proprietor of the estate of Probolingo, called 
the China Major, was a man of large property, 
but of great liberality, and on this occasion he 
behaved with remarkable courtesy and polite- 
nsss to our party. 

On the morning of the eighteenth of June, 
Colonel and Mrs. Frazer, Captain M'Pherson, 
Captain Cameron, Lieutenant Robertson, and 
Ensign Cameron, went on a visit to the China 
Major; and in the evening, whilst they were 
riding out, some mantries came and reported 
that a body of armed men had descended from 
the mountains, and taken possession of a village, 
a short distance from the house ; that, however, 
they did not molest the inhabitants, but de¬ 
clared they came to take the country by the 
command of Mahomet. Conceiving them to 
be nothing more than a set of religious enthu- 


195 

siasts, our party went to ascertain their number 
and intentions. With this view, the China 
Major collected his people, amounting to about 
two hundred, armed with pikes. The whole 
then proceeded about six paals, when the ban¬ 
ditti were perceived in a coffee plantation; or 
rather a part of them, as the chief had placed a 
considerable number in ambush, ready to rush 
out on a signal. While some of the people 
were endeavouring to ascertain their object, 
the insurgents made a most furious attack, 
preceded by a dreadful yell: in consequence of 
which, the China Major’s men gave way in 
every direction. Captain M‘Pherson and 
Captain Cameron, who happened to be in front, 
the one armed with a pistol, and the other with 
a fowling-piece, retreated towards Colonel 
Fraser, and the other officers who accompanied 
the China Major, and some of his relations. 
After an attempt to make a stand, and dis¬ 
charging what shot they had, the small party, 
being hard pressed by the banditti, were obliged 
to retire. At this moment Colonel Fraser and 
Captain M‘Pherson, being greatly exhausted, 
fell, and, with the China Major and two ser- 
o 2 


196 

vants, were most cruelly murdered. The rest 
of the gentlemen made their escape with great 
difficulty, and were closely pursued to the 
house, where they arrived about ten o’clock. 
Captain Cameron immediately began to take 
measures for putting the place into a state of 
defence ; and, towards morning, about one hun¬ 
dred and fifty of the China Major’s people were 
collected for that purpose, several of whom 
afterwards dispersed and joined the enemy. In 
consequence of the different requisitions that 
had b*een forwarded to Passerouang and Soura- 
baya, seventy of t the Djyang sekars arrived at 
half past five in the morning: on receiving 
which force, Captain Cameron again sent 
parties to collect the inhabitants, with a deter¬ 
mined resolution to attack the banditti, and 
rescue, if possible, his brother officers and the 
China Major. Unfortunately, he was soon 
obliged to relinquish this design by the defec¬ 
tion of the people, and the weakness of the 
sekars, who were armed only with pikes. The 
banditti had by this time advanced within one 
mile of the place, with their numbers consider¬ 
ably augmented. Soon after, their chief sent 


197 

a challenge to our party to come out and fight 
him, boasting that he had killed the English 
who fell into his hands the preceding evening. 
On receiving the confirmation of this melan¬ 
choly event, and perceiving no chance of success 
with the contemptible force that he had. 
Captain Cameron turned his attention to the 
afflicted Mrs. Fraser, whom he conveyed to a 
prow, that was to take the China Major’s 
family to Passerouang. Having done this, he 
returned again to the house, which he found 
abandoned by the servants, and the Djyang 
sekars also in full retreat, while the banditti 
were in possession of the front of the building. 
Nothing now remained for Captain Cameron 
and his friends but to effect their own escape, 
which they did with the greatest difficulty. 
Having ordered the Djyang sekars to proceed 
by a road that led from the rear of the house, 
and being anxious to afford every assistance in 
his power to Mrs. Fraser, Captain Cameron 
made the best of his way to the prow, which he 
had scarcely reached when the banditti appeared 
in great numbers on the beach, preparing to 
follow in boats. The prow immediately weighed. 


198 

and stood for Passerouang, where it arrived at 
eleven o’clock the same night, after encoun¬ 
tering the dangers of the ocean, and being ex¬ 
posed to the burning heat of the sun. 

As soon as this intelligence came to Major 
Forbes at Sourabaya, he proceeded for Probolingo, 
with a detachment of the seventy-eighth regi¬ 
ment, mounted on borrowed horses, and accom¬ 
panied by a party of Djyang sekars, under 
Lieutenant Dwyer. On the road, information 
arrived, that the banditti had found five field 
pieces, and a quantity of ammunition, on the 
Chinese Major’s premises. It was also ascer¬ 
tained that the insurgents were now consider¬ 
ably increased, and that the yellow flag was 
hoisted by them ; which, as being the standard 
of the Emperor of Solo, led to a belief that he 
was at the bottom of this disturbance. At day¬ 
break on the twentieth, the major came up with 
Colonel Arenschild, a pensioned officer of 
Passerouang, who had been dispatched by the 
resident there, with a body of armed men, the 
day before. After halting a short time to ar¬ 
range the mode of attack, the whole moved 
forward to Probolingo, not far from which they 


19.9 


discovered a party of the insurgents, who spee¬ 
dily retired. The numerous bodies of natives 
being found to impede the march of the detach¬ 
ment, the major resolved to push forward with 
the detachment of the seventy-eighth regiment, 
the Djyang sekars, and one gun. At a distance 
of two paals, three field pieces were found 
placed on the road, and covered by numbers of 
the banditti, armed chiefly with pikes. These 
were instantly attacked ; and when the detach¬ 
ment had come within twenty yards of them, 
continuing a heavy fire during the advance, 
they hastily fled, leaving the guns, and many 
killed and wounded. After a march of one 
paal, two more guns were seen on the road, 
covered as the others, only in greater force, 
with two large yellow flags, which gave reason 
to suppose that here the principal chief com¬ 
manded. The insurgents shouted, and hastened 
to meet the detachment; to encourage which* 
Major Forbes took up a position on each side 
of the road, directing the Djyang sekars to 
keep at some distance in the rear. The ban¬ 
ditti on this advanced with a shout; and the 
detachment reserving their fire till within a few 


200 

yards distance, opened it upon them in such an 
effectual and destructive manner, that after a 
short interval they ran and dispersed in all 
directions. The chief, being finally deserted by 
his people, rushed forward with a degree of 
frenzy, and was taken prisoner, though mortally 
wounded: a second chief was also brought in 
afterwards, and the brother of this last was 
killed. Thus, the insurrection being quelled, 
with no other loss on our part than two men 
wounded, Major Forbes returned with his de¬ 
tachment to Sourabaya. 

The bodies of Colonel Fraser and Captain 
M’Pherson were found tied up in sacks; that 
of the latter exhibiting a sad spectacle, being 
greatly mangled, and pierced with numerous 
wounds. 

It was necessary to give the particulars of this 
affecting narrative, because the tragic event 
which it records afforded a decisive confirma¬ 
tion of the opinion of the commander-in-chief 
in Java, that there was no security for the lives 
and property of the colonists, without a judi¬ 
cious disposition of an efficient military force. 
Had there been at this time, conformably to 


201 


his advice, a small garrison at Probolingo, and 
such as the importance of the place required, 
this misfortune would not have happened. 

Such an afflicting occurrence, therefore, while 
it gave pain to the feeling heart of General Gil¬ 
lespie, was heightened in distress by the con¬ 
sideration that it might have been prevented by 
the timely adoption of those means of defence 
which he had recommended. But his views 
were too enlarged, and his principles were by 
far too liberal for the sphere in which he was 
now placed, and circumscribed as he was by 
the counteracting influence of those who either 
could not appreciate the purity of his motives, 
or who had very different objects of their own 
to pursue. 

Under these circumstances, and being un¬ 
willing, from a sense of public duty, to express 
that resentment, which in any other case would 
have been perfectly justifiable, where want of 
confidence was aggravated by indelicate treat¬ 
ment, the general was anxious to remove from 
a situation, which, though it was the field of 
glory, had to him become the scene of trouble. 
After repeated solicitations, he obtained his 


202 

recal, and in October returned to Bengal, being 
succeeded in the command at Java by Major- 
General Nightingale. 

Though by the revolution of political rela¬ 
tions in Europe, this valuable island has been 
abandoned to its former owners, the importance 
of the conquest, and the magnitude of their 
services by whom it was gained, cannot be 
thereby lessened. It is, indeed, a matter de¬ 
serving of serious consideration, whether in 
sound policy it would not have been wise to 
have retained a position, which, independent 
of its natural riches, gives a vast degree of in¬ 
fluence to the possessor among the surrounding 
powers. In our hands, the condition of Java 
would have progressively improved, and that 
too in a very rapid manner, were we to judge 
from the advancement which it made during 
the short period that it has been under our do¬ 
minion. But to render the benefit of our re¬ 
gulations permanently useful to Europeans in 
general, and to the natives in particular, it was 
expedient to have maintained a military esta¬ 
blishment, economically formed, and properly 
distributed, which would have had the effect of 


203 


keeping the turbulent in awe, and of protecting 
the industrious. This was the decided opinion 
of General Gillespie, who saw that whatever 
might be the impression of our valour and 
strength upon the minds of the people in these 
parts, it would be the reverse of prudence and 
common sense to trust to that impression alone 
for security from their enmity. His penetrating 
and comprehensive judgment could take in a 
much larger and more remote space than is ge¬ 
nerally contemplated by those who are con¬ 
versant in estimating the precise value of present 
objects, and who have hardly any idea uncon¬ 
nected with personal advantages. 

General Gillespie, on the contrary, had less 
thought for himself than for his country; and 
of this disinterested and patriotic spirit his 
conduct throughout life was a splendid proof: 
but if a particular instance were at all requisite, 
a more striking one need not be adduced than 
his retirement from the command at Java, with 
the motives which occasioned that resignation, 
and the total disregard of personal emolument, 
which distinguished him while engaged in that 


204 


part of the world. That he returned to the 
Indian continent little enriched by his arduous 
services, may perhaps be considered by some 
as no mark of prudence ; but it was honourable 
to his integrity; for all that he possessed was 
gained in the field, in which he shared no more 
than belonged to his rank, and consequently 
far below what would have been commensurate 
with his toils and his dangers. He scorned to 
make the situation in which he was placed 
after the conquest of the island the means of 
advancing his private fortune; and therefore he 
might truly have adopted the words of a brave 
old commander of another profession,—“That 
though his estate was small, it was dearly and 
honestly earned, having never cost a soldier a 
tear, nor the country a penny/' 

On his arrival at Calcutta, the Major-General 
ascended the Ganges to take the command at 
Meerat; but his lot was not that of luxuriant 
indulgence and calm repose; for though it is 
probable, that had his valuable life been prolong¬ 
ed, a due regard would have been paid to his 
distinguished talents and extraordinary virtues 


by the British Government, he was destined to 
encounter nothing but difficulties, and to end 
his course in the career of glory. 

Thedepredations,encroachments, and murders, 
committed by the Goorkahlees on our frontiers, 
continuing to increase in spite of all remon¬ 
strances and attempts at a pacific settlement, no 
alternative appeared between a degrading sub¬ 
mission to their insolence and a vigorous system 
of hostility that should provide effectually 
against their ravages in future, by driving them 
within their former boundaries. No season 
appeared so promising for the accomplishment 
of this desirable object as the present, because 
the Goorkahlees were increasing in numbers 
and power every day; the necessary conse¬ 
quence of which would have been, that, in a 
very short space, our influence and even safety 
must have suffered considerably. Opinion is 
every thing in such a country as India: and 
whenever the natives shall begin to lose their 
reverence for the English arms, our superiority 
in other respects will quickly sink into con¬ 
tempt. Forbearance under repeated insults 
committed by these lawless marauders, who 


206 

acknowledged no law but their will, and no 
faith but their convenience, would unavoidably 
have brought our national character into disre¬ 
pute among the various nations of the east. 
The high reputation of the mountaineers of 
Napaul for hardihood and valour among the 
surrounding tribes, and the singular notion which 
has long prevailed, that their country is pro¬ 
tected by a supernatural power, gave a particular 
interest to the collision between them and a 
people who have performed such wonders in 
Asia as the English. However unpleasant* 
therefore, it might be to enter into a contest 
with these plunderers, justice and policy alike 
required that it should be no longer delayed; 
tor no overtures could induce them to preserve 
moderation in regard to the rights of their 
neighbours ; and such was their insolence, that 
they made no scruple of avowing their rapacious 
designs against those who were then under our 
protection. On all accounts, then, it became 
an imperious act of necessity to maintain the 
barrier of our possessions on that extensive line 
safe from these unprincipled hordes; and thus, 
by striking them with awe, prevent a confe- 


207 

deracy among the various other states, who, in 
their jealousy of our power, might be disposed to 
forget their own animosities for a time to join 
in expelling the English from India. 

When the war was resolved upon by our 
government, preparations were made for carry, 
ing it on with vigour, and bringing it to a speedy 
conclusion. Among other prudent measures 
that were adopted, one was the purchase of 
provisions at a time when they were abundant 
and reasonable; and thus a regular supply for 
the army being secured, the malice of the 
enemy, in devastating their country, was little 
to be regarded. In the same careful attention 
to the comforts of our soldiers, it was settled 
that they should receive money instead of 
.half their rations, by which regulations they 
were enabled to consult their particular con¬ 
veniences, while the service was materially 
eased by saving a great expense in the convey¬ 
ance of food, which in this hilly country can 
only be carried on men's shoulders. To cover 
the operations against Napaul, the armies of 
Madras and Bombay were ordered to advance 
dose to their respective lines of frontier, whilst, 


208 

for the same purpose, that part of the Bengal 
force which was not elsewhere engaged, de¬ 
fended the upper provinces from insult. These 
judicious arrangements having been made, and 
all other necessary measures taken to bring the 
campaign to an honourable termination, thirty 
thousand men were prepared for the invasion 
of Napaul, a territory extending above eight 
hundred miles, and intersected by assemblages 
of hills jumbled together in many forms and 
directions, sometimes in chains, lying parallel to 
each other, but of no great extent, and often 
connected at their termination by narrow ridges, 
running at right angles across the intermediate 
valleys. The summits of all are very narrow, 
and of various forms, while the distance between 
each range is short; so that the valleys are 
extremely confined, and not a spot is to be seen 
in many of them that would afford room for one 
thousand men in tents. Some of these ranges 
are covered with forests, and are always verdant; 
others are naked and stony, neither yielding 
shelter to the birds of the air nor the beasts of 
the field. 

, Immediately beneath these mountains com- 


§09 

tnences a rich and well cultivated extent of 
country, with an active and warlike population, 
of which the tapahs, or cultivators of the land, 
are the most numerous and formidable. Of this 
cast was Umeer Sing, the principal commander 
of the Napaul troops, ,who, in 1803, by com¬ 
pleting the conquest of Sirinagur, carried the 
dominion of the Goorkahlees almost to Kush- 
meer, after which he displayed considerable 
powers both as a warrior and a statesman. 

According to the plan of operations for the 
invasion of Napaul, it was resolved to act upon 
four points at the same time, and thus to prevent 
the Goorkahlees from making incursions and 
laying waste our country, while we were pene¬ 
trating into their’s. Acting upon this principle 
of co-operation, two divisions were to enter the 
country to the westward, near the Sutledge ; 
and two divisions to the eastward, upon Cat- 
mandu, the capital. 

The two divisions of the former army were 
commanded by Colonel (now General) Ochter- 
lony and by Major-General Gillespie, on whom 
devolved the arduous service of forcing a 
passage into the Deyrah Dhoon through the 


p 


210 

mountains. As these two branches of the 
military force had the common object of reducing 
the Goorkah power to the west of the Ganges, 
and lastly in the province of Almorah, their 
operations had, of necessity, a dependence upon 
each other; and the movements of one division 
were of course to be regulated with a view to 
the assistance of its coadjutor. 

The Deyrah Dhoon, or the Valley of Deyrah, 
which is so called from the village and sacred 
temple of that name, situated near the Assuni 
river, extends from the Ganges in a north¬ 
westerly direction, till it meets the Jumna at 
the foot of the hills. Besides the principal post 
of Kalunga, the enemy had some very strong 
positions on the north side of the Jumna above 
the junction of that river with the Tonse; of 
which defences, the most distinguished were 
Colsie, Runtum, and Baraut, all in elevated 
situations, and almost inaccessible; but being 
on the right bank of the Jumna, they were of 
little importance, compared with the strong 
fortress which lay within the Dhoon. 

The eastern passes into this valley are at 
Hurd war and Rikkikies, by the former of which 


211 

Timour Shah or Tamerlane passed the Sawaleh 
mountains on his return to Persia. The passes 
into the Dhoon from our northern frontier are 
five, of which two only, the Timlv and Kerrie, 
were discovered to be practicable for cavalry, 
infantry, and artillery. 

The former of these passes is the most 
westerly, and the latter lies about the middle of 
the first range of hills. Above the Tirnly pass 
is a ford over the Jumna, and a little above it is 
the ferry of Rajhghaut. 

In the vicinity of Rikkikies to the eastward 
is the Luckerghaut ferry; and here a mountain 
road or pass runs from the Dhoon in a northerly 
direction, within a short distance of the hill of 
Kalunga, and continuing the same Course till it 
arrives at the Raghretti river, where it forms a 
j unction with the great road leading from the more 
westerly parts of the Goorkah territories. 

From the western side, and about the same 
parallel of latitude, runs the lesser valley of 
Kaerda, bounded on the west by a range of 
mountains very difficult of access, in which are 
the fortresses of Nahan, Jytuk, Jumpta, Mornee, 
&c. This valley obtains its name from a small 
p 2 


21 £ 

stockaded fort which defends the road that 
leads from the Rajhghaut ferry. 

Having thus given a brief outline of the 
country which was intended for the scene of 
Major-General Gillespie’s operations, it will 
be proper to take a slight view of the possessions 
occupied by the enemy near the Sutledge, where 
Colonel Ochterlony was engaged. 

The Pinjoor valley constitutes the boundary 
of the Goorkhalee states to the * north-west P 
and the Sutledge to the north. In this quarter 
their principal army under Umeer Sing was 
assembled in a stockaded position of great 
strength at Irkea ; and in the immediate vicinity 
of this place stand the forts of Nallaghur y 
Yarraghur, Ramghur, Malouen, &c; the first 
of which is the key to the passes south of the 
Sutledge. 

From the position of the enemy at Irkea are 
two communications, which, in the event of 
the defeat of Umeer Sing, would have remained 
open to them ; one to the south at Nahan, where 
Runjour Sing, the son of that chieftain, 
commanded a garrison of chosen troops. And 
the other to the eastward, either by Bannahut 


213 


down the Baghretti and Alukandra rivers; or 
by crossing the Tonse by Colsie and Runtum, 
over the fords of the Jumna into the Dhoon, 
Thus, while the enemy had provided for the 
security of their frontiers, by strong positions, 
they were enabled in the event of any disaster 
to retreat into the interior, and to multiply the 
difficulties of the invading army. It was, there¬ 
fore, evidently necessary on the part of the latter 
to adopt a plan of operations calculated to pre¬ 
vent Umeer Sing and his force from making a 
retrograde movement by any of the routes, 
which, leading into the heart of the Dhoon, 
would insure his safety, and endanger that of 
his pursuers. Under this consideration, it became 
indispensable that the proceedings of Major- 
General Gillespie should be directed with an 
eye to the operations of Colonel Ochterlony, 
whose success depended, in a great degree, 
upon the advance of this division of the western 
army, the march of which we are now to follow* 
It had been originally intended that the occu¬ 
pation of the Deyrah valley or Dhoon should have 
taken place immediately after the first of Novem¬ 
ber ; but from subsequent information, it became 


214 


a matter of importance to expedite the advance 
of the troops to the Goorkhalee frontier; and the 
earliest day from the fifteenth of October was 
determined upon for the commencement of 
hostile operations. 

The general, writing to an esteemed friend 
on that day, says, 44 1 am on the point of moving 
towards Seharanpore. The troops are all in 
advance. I expect to make an attack on the 
Dhoon the twenty-third or fourth, and move 
upon Nahan, if circumstances admit, about 
the thirty-first or first proximo, in order to 
support Colonel Ochterlony’s attempt upon 
Nalyghur, and eventually move against Umeer 
Sing. Lord Moira has left in a great measure 
the movements from my side to myself. I am 
inclined to think that he will find the present 
undertaking more arduous and difficult than he 
imagines, as the country in itself is so difficult 
of access: eve^ yard is a post, and the Goor- 
khalees are a very warlike active people. 

“ I shall have to move in several columns; and 
my force is so small, that I fear disaster. 

“ You recollect Mornee, where the Rajah 
wanted us to command his people. That very 


215 


spot where we encamped is close to where a 
detachment must enter the mountains for the 
purpose of attacking Nahan. The recollec¬ 
tion of my friend will render this spot dear to 
me, and bring past scenes in glowing colours to 
my imagination.” 

It was not till the eighteenth of October that 
a sufficient force could be assembled at Seharan- 
pore: and on the two following days the de¬ 
tachments moved forward, to penetrate into the 
Dhoon by the Timly and Kerrie passes. On 
the twenty-first, His Majesty’s fifty-third regi¬ 
ment marched, and encamped in the neighbour¬ 
hood of Jusmore, a village nearly equidistant 
from the two passes, with the intention of sup¬ 
porting either of the detachments in advance. 
Three companies of light infantry and a troop 
of dragoons posted themselves at Padshabagh, 
near the foot of the Timly pass, and closely 
watched the banks of the Jumna. 

In the event of the Major-General's plans 
being successfully executed, it was to be 
expected that the passes would be carried, the 
ferries occupied, the several detachments of 
observation posted, and a junction of the forces 


216 


effected at Deyrah on or about the twenty-third, 
in which case a large detachment would have 
been available for the attack of Kalunga. 

These expectations were justified by the 
result, which completely demonstrated the cal¬ 
culations of the Major-General, and the accuracy 
of his arrangements. On these grounds, added 
to the probability that Colonel Ochterlony 
would be hard pressed by Umeer Sing, he was 
induced to direct his attention to the support 
of that gallant officer’s movements, and accord¬ 
ingly he made him a provisional promise of 
affording him collateral aid to the westward almost 
immediately after the first of November. To effect 
this object, therefore, it was necessary to com¬ 
plete the important part of the service in the 
Dhoon by the twenty-seventh of October; and 
from the information obtained respecting the 
state of Kalunga, it was judged that its reduc¬ 
tion would not require the labour of three days. 
On the twenty-fourth, a body of cavalry and 
horse artillery crossed the Jumna in the route 
of Ludheamv, and from thence to Seidoura, for 
the purpose of deceiving the enemy, and ad¬ 
vancing the movements of Colonel Ochterlony. 


217 

The same day, the major-general marched with 
great expedition for the banks of the Jumna, by 
the Timly pass ; and on the twenty-fifth, he 
advanced into the Dhoon, with the design of 
reconnoitring the positions of Colsie, Runtum, 
and Baraut* On descending into the Dhoon, 
he received intelligence from Colonel Mawby, 
giving the account of an unsuccessful attempt 
which he had just made upon Kalunga, and re¬ 
questing to be favoured with further instructions. 
According to this report, it appeared that the 
colonel had marched the day before from 
Deyrah with the whole of his force, leaving 
only the rear guard for the protection of his 
camp, and ascended the Table Land, about eight 
hundred yards from Kalunga, and four hundred 
feet below its level, separated from it by a deep 
ravine, through which runs the water-course of 
Nala-panie. The colonel having brought up 
some light pieces with considerable labour to 
this eminence, after examining the fortress from 
thence, deemed the place impracticable to be 
taken by assault, and marched his troops back 
again to the camp. 

This occurrence necessarily produced some 


218 


change and delay, but it made no alteration in 
the resolution and plan of the major-general, 
who immediately ordered up the detachments of 
cavalry and light infantry that had been left to 
watch the Jumna, together with some mortars 
and two twelve pounders. His activity in¬ 
creased with the difficulties of his situation ; 
and though from his own observation he was 
fully aware of the obstacles he had to encounter, 
his confidence in the troops which he com¬ 
manded rendered him superior to all fear of the 
result. 

Of this firmness of mind, mixed with much 
liveliness of manner, a striking instance may be 
adduced in the following letter which he wrote 
from the position before Kalunga, on the twenty- 
eighth of October. 

“ My dear friend, 

“ Me void —in the far famed Dhoon—the 
Tempe of Asia; and a most beautiful valley it 
is ; the climate exceeding every thing I have 
hitherto experienced in India. 

“ It was not my intention to have advanced so 
far into the valley, had not Colonel Mawby, 


219 

whom I sent forward with a force I thought 
sufficient to completely take possession of the 
whole by a coup de main , failed. I was on the 
banks of the Jumna, and within the valley, 
with the intention of reconnoitring and ex¬ 
amining its line, when I received Mawby’s 
report that he had failed, from want of correct 
information, and that it was impracticable to 
take the place. At this moment, the greatest 
part of the troops, excepting one thousand three 
hundred infantry, five guns, and three hundred 
cavalry in advance with Mawby, were at Seha- 
Tanpore, and below the Ghauts, ready to pass 
the Jumna into the Seik country, for the pur¬ 
pose of moving to the westward, to support 
Colonel Ochterlony’s movements. You may 
imagine this check completely changed my 
plans : and here I am, with as stiff and strong a 
position as ever I saw, garrisoned by men who 
are fighting pro aris et focis in my front, and 
who have decidedly formed the resolution to 
dispute the fort as long as a man is alive. 

“ The fort stands on the summit of an almost 
inaccessible mountain, and covered with an 
impenetrable jungle; the only approaches com- 


220 

manded, and stifly stockaded. It will be a 
tough job to take it; but, by the first proximo, 
I think I shall have it, sub auspice Deo!” 

On the twenty-ninth, Captain Campbell an¬ 
nounced the intelligence of his having occupied 
Colsie, the enemy retiring as he advanced; in 
consequence of which, and agreeably to his 
own request, that officer was directed to join 
head-quarters, after taking proper care for the 
command of the fort. 

The same day, the major-general having re¬ 
connoitred the place, chose a position for an ad¬ 
vanced encampment; after which, he drew up 
the following orders, which, as the last pro¬ 
duction of this excellent commander, will be 
read with lively interest by all who admired his 
virtues. 


221 


FIELD ORDERS. 


Camp near Deyr ah* 
Z9th October , 1814. 

The Troops will change their ground to-morroW 
morning, and encamp in the following order: 

j Right or First Column , Colonel Carpenter —Two 
battalions of His Majesty’s fifty-third foot; two com* 
panies seventeenth native infantry; sixth, seventh, and 
seventeenth light infantry battalions, under Major E. J. 
Wilson. A detail of Golandauze and Lascars, sufficient 
to carry four boxes of two hundred rounds of musket 
ammunition each. 

Reserve , Major Ludlow —Remainder of the eighth 
native infantry—Detachment of the nineteenth native 
infantry, and light company of the twenty-sixth native 
infantry—Remainder of the seventh native infantry. 

Second Column , Captain Fast , Seventeenth— Light 
company of the twenty-seventh native infantry—Three 
hundred rank and file of the seventeenth native infantry, 
pioneers, and a detail of Golandauze and gun Lascars 
sufficient to carry two boxes of two hundred rounds of 
musket ammunition. 

Third Column , Major Kelly —Three hundred rank 
and file of the seventh native infantry—Light compa¬ 
nies of the first and fifth regiments, and twenty pioneers. 


Fourth Column , Captain Campbell , Sixth Native In¬ 
fantry —First Grenadier company, sixth native infantry, 
one battalion company ditto, and light company of the 
sixteenth native infantry. The fourth column will 
encamp in the second line, in rear of Lieutenant-Colonel 
Carpenter’s column. 

Officers will be careful to direct their men on all 
occasions to reserve their fire, and on no account to allow 
a shot to be fired at random; and the Major-General 
expects they will distinctly explain to their respective 
corps the necessity in action of taking a cool and deli¬ 
berate aim ; and, above all, to impress on their minds 
the advantage to be gained by a determined use of the 
bayonet. 

Officers at the head of columns of attacks will move 
deliberately, so that the men will not lengthen out, and 
be enabled to preserve their distance, and keep up 
without fatiguing their men or exhausting their breath: 
officers therefore are recommended to bring their soldiers 
to the storm in possession of all their physical powers, 
to effect the impression that animal spirits and unim¬ 
paired vigour can always command. 

Strict silence to be observed; and if necessary to give 
a word of command during the march of a column to a 
point of attack, it must be communicated from the front 
to the rear by the men themselves repeating in a whisper 
the word of their commander. 

When the head of a column is prepared to debouchc 


223 


fS> 

towards the point of attack, a short halt should be 
made to gain breath, if circumstances will admit, arid 
the officers in command will bring up their men in com¬ 
pact order, with steady and cool determination. This 
is the moment an enemy will endeavour to take advan¬ 
tage of any looseness or precipitation. In all attacks 
(generally speaking) against entrenched or stockaded 
posts, firing and halting to reload often causes severe 
loss—this may be avoided by an undaunted and spirited 
storm. In case of ambuscade, or surprize, a soldier 
requires all his natural courage; and when he is so 
situated as to be exposed to such attacks in jungles and 
narrow pathways, he must predetermine within himseli 
to preserve the utmost coolness : hurry must be avoided 
to prevent confusion; and even loss sustained with 
steadiness can be remedied ; and an officer in command 
ought always previously to arrange in what way he 
should repel, and guard against such occurrences. 

The enemy we have to encounter are dexterous in 
using a short sword—Officers, caution your soldiers 
to keep them at the point of the bayonet—in the storm 
beware of their closing. 

When several columns move to given points, officers 
commanding columns will bear in mind the utility and 
necessity of training their march so as to render the 
attack simultaneous. The effects of several columns 
moving at once on an object is on most occasions decisive. 

Let emulation actuate all; but corrected by steadiness 
and coolness—no breakings of ranks or running for who 


224 


is to be foremost in the contest—each column must be a 
mutual support—and every soldier actuated by the 
principle of cool and deliberate valour, will always have 
the advantage over wild and precipitate courage. 

Major-General Gillespie presumes to offer these few 
suggestions, notwithstanding the many excellent and 
experienced officers in the field might have precluded 
the necessity : he relies however on their indulgence, 
which he is confident he will experience from the har¬ 
mony and zealous soldier-like feeling that appears to 
inspire all. 

Field Orders , thirtieth of October .—Officers com¬ 
manding columns are requested to set their watcher 
with the Major-General’s. 

Par ole , Moira. —Countersign , Forward. 

The columns under Colonel Carpenter, Major 
Ludlow, and Captain Campbell, will form in front of 
their lines at nine o'clock to-night, and march conform¬ 
ably to routes which they will receive from head 
quarters.—The column under Captain Fast to parade 
and march at three o’clock to-morrow morning, agreeably 
to a route which will be hereafter issued to him. The 
column under Major Kelly to parade and march at two 
o’clock to-morrow morning. His route will be sent 
during the day. 

Officers commanding columns will be pleased to order 
twelve men armed with Tulwars to precede each of their 
columns. 


225 


On the morning of the thirtieth the army 
moved forward, and encamped near the foot of 
the hills in this order: 

The right column, under Lieutenant-Colonel 
Carpenter, consisted of two companies of the 
fifty-third regiment of foot, two companies of 
the seventeenth native infantry, and light com¬ 
panies of the sixth, seventh, and seventeenth 
native infantry, under Major Wilson. A detail 
of Golandauze and Lascars, conveying ammu¬ 
nition, and a portion of pioneers for carrying 
ladders. 

The reserve, under Major Ludlow, having 
the remainder of the eighth native infantry, a 
detachment of the nineteenth ditto, and light 
company of the twenty-sixth ditto, with the re¬ 
mainder of the seventh ditto. 

Second column, under Captain fast, having 
the light company of the twenty-seventh native 
infantry, three hundred rank and file of the 
seventeenth ditto, sixteen pioneers, and a detail 
of Golandauze and Lascars to carry ammuni¬ 
tion. 

Third column, under Major Kelly, consisting 
of three hundred rank and file of the seventh 
Q 


226 

native infantry, light companies of the first and 
fifth ditto, and twenty pioneers. 

Fourth column, under Captain Campbell, 
having the grenadier company of the sixth native 
infantry, one battalion company of the sixth, 
and light company of the tenth ditto. One 
troop of the eighth, or His Majesty’s Royal 
Irish Dragoons, dismounted, was kept in readi¬ 
ness near head-quarters, to join the reserve 
under Major Ludlow. 

At half-past three in the afternoon, Lieute¬ 
nant-Colonel Carpenter, with his column, sup¬ 
ported by the reserve under Major Ludlow, ad¬ 
vanced, and occupied the table-land already 
mentioned ; the enemy maintaining a wild, irre¬ 
gular fire from light guns in the fort, and a small 
discharge of matchlocks from a neighbouring 
eminence. 

During the night, batteries for two twelve 
pounders, four six pounders, two mortars, and 
two howitzers, were erected, under the direc¬ 
tion of Major Pennington, commanding the ar¬ 
tillery, and Lieutenant Blair of the engineers, 
assisted by the officers of pioneers, and Captain 
Byers, aid-de-camp to Major-General Gillespie. 


227 

The guns, mortars, and howitzers, having 
been brought up the hill on elephants, were 
placed in the batteries before day-break in the 
morning of the thirty-first, and shortly after¬ 
wards a well-directed fire was opened on the 
fort, which was as briskly returned. 

At two o’clock the same morning, one co¬ 
lumn, under Major Kelly, marched by a detour 
to the other side of the hill, placing itself in ad¬ 
vance of the village of Kinsale. A second 
column, under Captain Fast, moved at the same 
time on Luckhound; and one under Captain 
Campbell towards Ustul. These three columns, 
with that under the command of Lieutenant- 
Colonel Carpenter, supported by the reserve, 
were intended to make a simultaneous assault 
on four separate points. 

The signal was to be fired two hours previous 
to the storm, in order to enable the different 
columns to correct their distances from the 
place, should it be discovered that the infor¬ 
mation given by the guides was erroneous. 
The discharge of five guns, preceded by a 
silence of as many minutes on the part of the 
batteries, was the appointed signal; which fire 
Q 2 


228 


was to be repeated by the field-pieces in the 
camp. At seven o’clock, the first three guns 
were fired, at intervals of one minute each ; 
and the last two quick. A little before nine, 
a detachment of the enemy, which, during the 
night preceding, had occupied a hill on the 
right, for the purpose of harassing the working 
party and outposts, moved forward, with the 
obvious intention of turning our flank ; but in 
this design they were checked by the fire of an 
howitzer, and finally driven back at the point 
of the bayonet. As at this time the signal for 
the assault had been fired, the penetrating eye 
of the major-general discerned in the circum¬ 
stance of the repulse an opportunity for pur¬ 
suing the retreating enemy into their own 
works; and instantly availing himself of that 
advantage, he ordered the assailing column to 
advance, supported by the reserve, and covered 
by the fire of the batteries. 

This body succeeded with some little diffi¬ 
culty in entering the stockade, the royal Irish 
dragoons, one hundred of whom were dis¬ 
mounted, under the command of Captain Bru¬ 
ton, driving the enemy before them quite 


229 

through the village, and to the very walls of 
the place. But this stockade was altogether 
contemptible, and intended for no other pur¬ 
pose than merely as a fence to enclose a num¬ 
ber of huts that were erected close under this 
part of the wall. 

Nothing could surpass the gallantry of the 
King’s Royal Irish, who took the lead in the 
storm; but after penetrating to the wicket, 
they were there obliged to retire, for the want 
of immediate support. The troops, however, 
still continued to maintain their position with 
cool intrepidity, keeping up a heavy though 
useless fire of musketry; but at length shewing 
an inclination to retire, positive orders were 
sent to hold possession of the stockade until 
the party could be reinforced. But, unfortu¬ 
nately for those who had to endure a painful 
and unequal struggle in this quarter, the two 
columns under Major Kelly and Captain Fast, 
on the other side, did not hear the signal; and 
thus the relief which their presence would have 
afforded did not arrive when it was wanted. 
It is observable, that the major-genera!, having 
been apprehensive that some misconception 


230 


might take place, directed his aid-de-camp to 
send positive injunctions to those officers to 
storm immediately; but though the orders were 
dispatched in duplicate, and by different routes, 
they never reached their destination. The co¬ 
lumn commanded by Captain Campbell came 
up at the close of the action, and most hand¬ 
somely covered the retreat. 

Three companies of his Majesty's fifty-third 
regiment having arrived from camp, at half past 
ten o'clock were ordered on with two six- 
pounders; and the major-general, accompanied 
by Lieutenant-Colonel Westenra of the eighth 
light dragoons, Major Stevenson, commissary- 
general, and his personal staff, entered the 
stockade at the head of the troops. The guns 
being pushed up within twenty-five yards of 
the walls of the fort, were served by the horse 
artillery with the greatest coolness and pre¬ 
cision. Under the cover of this fire the storm¬ 
ing party formed, and advanced to the charge, 
but was impelled back by a sweeping fire of 
grape, match locks, arrows, and various de¬ 
structive missiles, peculiar to the Indian war¬ 
fare. A second attempt to carry the place, 


231 


though vigorously made, experienced the same 
resistance, and was equally unsuccessful. From 
a wicket, before which one of the six-pounders 
had been placed, a heavy fire was maintained; 
to avoid which, the major-general gave orders 
that the troops should branch off on each side, 
and he took the lead, thus striving, by his great 
and energetic example, to turn the fortune of 
the day. Affairs were at this moment in a 
most desperate state ; and the resolution of the 
commander to head his troops in person, though 
perhaps not strictly conformable to ordinary 
rules, and common cases, was indispensibly 
necessary in that critical posture of the assault. 
The general was fully aware of the difficulty 
which pressed upon him; and though he was 
as free from reproach as from fear, he could 
not, consistent with his sense of professional 
duty, suffer his troops to bear a greater share 
of personal danger than himself. He was of 
opinion that the fort might be taken by assault, 
and his plan was well digested for that pur¬ 
pose ; but when he saw that the valour and 
fortitude of the soldiers with whom the attack 
lay had suffered an unfortunate depression, in 


232 

consequence of the formidable difficulties that 
were opposed to them, he resolved to set them 
an example of impulsive forwardness, in the 
hope that their efforts would be crowned with 
success on the coming up of the other divisions 
to their support. Obstacles and dangers which 
appal the courage of others only tended to 
quicken his spirit, and to stimulate him to ex¬ 
ertions corresponding with his declaration on 
leaving the batteries, u that he would take the 
fort, or lose his life in the attempt/’ 

This devoted heroism had the effect of reani¬ 
mating the troops, who, being thus led on, 
moved forward with alacrity to make another 
attempt: but while the general was waving his 
hat and sword, cheering his men and calling them 
on, within a few paces of the walls, he was shot 
through the heart, and instantly expired. 

Thus, in the exuberance of his zeal for the 
service, and in a total disregard of his personal 
safety, fell this exalted and inestimable character, 
a little before twelve o'clock, and when our 
troops had been more than an hour within 
thirty yards of the walls. 

Here let us pause a moment to drop the tear 


233 


of sympathetic regret over the corse of the 
hero, in the fond recollection of his virtues, and 
to express a sorrowful concern that he should 
have been taken away in the midst of his use¬ 
fulness, and the vigour of his glory, like the 
pride of the forest, when blasted by a stroke of 
lightning. 

All hopes of success being destroyed by 
this fatal catastrophe, the next senior officer, 
on being made acquainted with it, immediately 
ordered a retreat, and the whole, with the guns 
of the batteries, returned to the camp. The 
ladders were lost in the first attempt; but there 
is reason to believe that could they have been 
found in the last assault, their application at that 
part of the wall which was approached by a 
small detachment would have been attended 
with success; for at this period the enemy had 
given up every thing as lost, and were, in reality, 
preparing to abandon the place. 

In recording this melancholy disaster, it is a 
painful but necessary duty to take a review of 
the subject, for the purpose of shewing that the 
lamented chief was not only perfectly justified 
in the course which he adopted, but that in 


234 


strict propriety he had no alternative under the 
pressing exigencies of the circumstances. 

Owing rather to the want of support than 
to the power of the enemy, the troops had 
become so dispirited by the first repulse, that 
the stimulating example of their commander 
was alone capable of bringing them to a renewal 
of the combat. Had the place been impregna¬ 
ble, the case would have been very different; 
and whatever might be our admiration of the 
courage of the general, an apology for his conduct 
would have been difficult, except in the language 
of an elegant writer, respecting the venturous 
boldness of a great naval hero, “ That to mention 
the impetuosity of his courage, is to make the 
blame of his temerity equal to the praise of his 
valour; and that this illustrious man was once 
betrayed to an inconsiderate and desperate 
enterprize by the resistless ardour of his own 
spirit, and a noble jealousy of the honour of his 
country.” 

But in the present instance we are freed from 
the necessity of vindicating the energy of 
General Gillespie at the expense of his j udgment, 
fortheimputationof temerity could notbecharged 


235 

upon him without palpable injustice, as the 
attainment of the fortress was not only desirable 
but practicable. According to every observation, 
the place was vulnerable, as the walls were rather 
low, and not without an inlet; on which account 
Major Ludlow, an officer of great discernment 
and gallantry, gave it as his opinion that the 
fortress might be carried without firing. 

It may, perhaps, be said, that considering the 
natural strength of the position, and the deter¬ 
mined spirit of the enemy, prudence would have 
dictated a blockade of the place till a battering 
train could be obtained sufficient for its reduc¬ 
tion. In reply to this, it is sufficient to remark, 
that besides the unavoidable injury occasioned 
by the weakening of the force in that case, the 
delay of four or five weeks, which must necessa¬ 
rily have taken place for procuring an adequate 
supply from the magazines, would have crippled 
the plan of the campaign, and have thrown 
advantages into the power of the enemy which 
could not easily have been retrieved. By 
watching the fortress of Kalunga till the artillery 
conld arrive, this division of the army must 
have been kept in a state ef comparative inacti- 


236 


vity above a month, which must, of course, have 
sensibly affected the ulterior object of the 
service, and, in all probability, completely 
disarranged the operations of the division under 
Colonel Ochterlony. It was of great import¬ 
ance to the movement of that officer from 
Rooperon Nallaghur, and accordingly with that 
view the Major-General had promised to make 
a powerful diversion in his favour about the 
first ofNovember. Now, to redeem this pledge, 
and to carry on with vigour the other objects 
of the enterprize, the reduction of Kalunga was 
indispensable ; as otherwise no diversion could 
have been made with a prospect of success, 
because a considerable force must have remained 
to observe that fortress. Besides this, it was 
absolutely necessary to observe with close 
attention all the points lying open to the opera¬ 
tions and march of an active enemy. The road 
leading from the position of Umeer Sing at Irkea 
to the banks of the Tonse, was represented as 
perfectly free to the march of his army; and 
both the Tonse and the Jumna were fordable 
in many places. Under these circumstances, 
a large extent of country would have required 


237 

close observation, together with the Rajhghaut 
ferry; in addition to which, another road lay 
behind the hill of Kalunga, running in an 
easterly direction along the hills forming the 
northern boundary of the Dhoon, which must 
also have been watched by a small corps at 
least. After such a distribution of the troops, 
therefore, it may safely be left to the judgment 
of any considerate and dispassionate inquirer, 
whether any adequate force could have remained 
as a reserve to act with effect against Umeer 
Sing in the event of his falling back on the 
Dhoon by the northern road. 

By getting Kalunga into our possession, the 
enemy would have been deprived of the only 
strong position which he held within the valley, 
and in that case, a moderate garrison, placed in 
the village and temple of Deyrah, would have 
proved a rallying point not only for our own 
corps of observation, but for the inhabitants, 
who might be disposed to throw off the 
Goorkhah yoke in this quarter. So long as a 
garrison of the troops of Napaul continued in 
the fortress of Kalunga, our operations in the 
Dhoon must have been extremely limited, re- 


238 


duced to great uncertainty, and without de¬ 
riving the least assistance from the people of the 
country. The necessity of an immediate attack 
of this post being therefore obvious, the only 
consideration remaining was the numerical 
strength of our owii force, and the nature of the 
resistance it had to overcome. The former is 
easily to be inferred from a cursory view of the 
military returns on that fatal day ; and though 
the natural advantages of the place were im¬ 
proved by the exertions and determined valour of 
a hardy race of mountain warriors, subsequent 
experience proved that the major-general was 
perfectly correct in estimating its fall, and 
in the measures which he adopted for effect¬ 
ing that object. 

To whatever causes the failure was owing, 
whether in the ordinary nature of human acci¬ 
dents, by which well-concerted plans are not 
properly understood on the part of those who are 
entrusted with the execution of them, or in the 
want of that promptitude which could alone 
ensure success, no reflection can be cast upon 
the memory of the commander, either on 
account of the plan of the assault, or his con- 


239 

duct in endeavouring to recover the fortune of 
the day. It was certainly reduced to a forlorn 
hope, and as such, the general considered it to 
be his duty to expose himself in the most con- 
spicuous manner, that, if possible, his example 
might inspire and rouse the emulation of his 
troops into another vigorous and effectual 
attack upon the place. The heroic sentiment 
which occasioned this sacrifice has carried the 
renown of the British arms to a height of splen¬ 
dour, that, in point of radical virtue, and perma¬ 
nent utility, has far exceeded the Grecian and 
Roman glory. That daring spirit of bold en- 
terprize, which in Europe has stamped with 
immortality so many illustrious names, will be 
found peculiarly needful in the vast and compli¬ 
cated regions of the east, where, from the 
character of the people, and the tenure of our 
possessions, we shall be continually obliged to 
maintain a high military attitude. But the 
effect of that power must depend on the com¬ 
manding talents and unshackled energy of the 
generals who are employed in the service; for 
where there are jarring interests, it is obvious the 


240 

seeds of dissatisfaction will produce error and 
confusion, defeat and disgrace. 

It is distressing to reflect that an invaluable 
life was here cut off by a voluntary act of devo¬ 
tion for the public good, which might have been 
preserved for many years of active service and 
honourable retirement, had all who were with 
him been equally animated in the cause of their 
country. But in this case it was a mournful 
satisfaction for him to say with the Spartan com¬ 
mander, in a situation of extreme difficulty, 
46 Whatever misconduct shall happen in this 
battle, I shall either conquer or die.” 

The body of Major-General Gillespie being 
laid in spirits, was conveyed to Meerat for inter¬ 
ment, and a monument has been there erected 
to his memory by the officers who served under 
his command. 

Earl Moira, also the Governor-General of 
India, whose friendship for the deceased hero 
was* of the purest kind, has signified his inten¬ 
tion of consecrating a cenotaph to the same 
sacred object; while at home, the two houses 
of parliament, on the motion of ttis Majesty's 


241 

ministers, have voted a public monument to the 
major-general, and another to his companion in 
arms, Major-General Sir Samuel Gibbs, who fell 
about the same period, and in a similar manner, 
for the want of support in an attack upon New 
Orleans. Thus, after enduring the perilous 
climate of Batavia, and facing death together 
in the tremendous conflict of Cornelis, these 
gallant men were distinguished by being nomi¬ 
nated in the same gazette to the honourable 
Order of the Bath, and joined ultimately in 
a parliamentary resolution for a monumental 
commemoration of their distinct services, and 
the final termination of their glorious career in 
opposite quarters of the globe. 

Private friendship indulged its sorrows on 
the melancholy intelligence of the death of 
General Gillespie, in two poetical effusions, 
which are highly creditable to the feelings of 
the writers, and happily characteristic of the 
extraordinary virtue they were intended to cele¬ 
brate. The first of these pieces was composed in 
the east, by an officer, and has already appeared in 
one of the journals published in that part of 
the world. The second is the production of 


R 


242 

an amiable and accomplished young lady in this 
country, and was written on receiving a letter 
from an esteemed friend, lamenting the untime¬ 
ly fate of the general, and announcing the inten¬ 
tion of Earl Moira to erect a cenotaph at Cal¬ 
cutta, in honour of his great public services and 
private virtues. 

THE HERO’S DEATH. 

At eventide, a crimson ray 
Reminds us of the parting day ; 

Impending mists obscure the vieur, 

And all assumes a sombre hue. 

The distant spires, that pleas’d the sight, 

All vanish with the fading light: 

The gloom enshrouds the hill and vale, 

The city and the sylvan dale. 

But yet to-morrow’s sun shall glow, 

And man again its blessings know : 

To-morrow’s sun shall shine again, 

And gild the city and the plain : 

Yet he whose martial course has run, 

No more shall greet the rising sun. 

His dwelling is the silent tomb, 

Midst darkness black as Stygian gloom. 

But yet for one exists a spell, 

Who serv’d his natal soil so well; 

That bids a light eternal shine, 

To grace the hero’s honor’d shrine. 


243 

Gillespie’s gone!—yet still shall fame 
Immortalize the warrior’s name. 

Mourn all ye soldiers! deeply mourn— 
Your dearest friend will ne’er return. 
He’s gone !—and fled that noble soul, 
Where honour reign’d without controul. 
lie lov’d you : let your valour prove 
That you were worthy of his love : 

And when amidst the battle’s roar, 

O ! think Gillespie leads before : 

And then revenge the fatal blow, 

That laid your gallant chieftain low. 

He fell ! but, at his parting breath, 
Gillespie died a soldier’s death ! 


On the death of Major-General Sir Robert Rollo 
Gillespie , K, C, B, killed at Kalunga , in the 
East Indies , on the 31 st of October , 1814 . 

Needless it is to raise the tomb of state, 

To mark the spot in which a good man sleeps; 

Since friendship, bending at the stroke of fate, 
Embalms his virtues, as o’er him she w r eeps. 

These tender tears, to cherish’d virtue due, 

This unavailing flo"»d of genuine grief, 

Gillespie ! shall thy sacred name bedew, 

And give fresh verdure to each laurel leaf. 

R 2 



244 


But yc who mourn the honor’d hero’s death, 

Arouse from woe, and lead the life he led ; 

Practise his virtues till your latest breath, 

To be like him illustrious when ye’re dead. 

In reviewing the professional character of 
General Gillespie, the first consideration that 
must strike the observer, is the uncommon ardour 
he uniformly displayed under all circumstances, 
and in various situations. Nothing was suffered 
to damp his activity of spirit, or to draw him 
aside from the career of glory, in which he was 
engaged. His enterprizing genius acquired 
new energy in proportion to the difficulties 
which he encountered, and the occasional mor¬ 
tifications that it was his fortune to endure. 
The high sense of duty, and an emulation of 
discharging it satisfactorily to his own mind, 
predominated in him over all regard to private 
feelings. But though his courage was un¬ 
daunted, and his fortitude not to be diverted by 
the cold and calculating policy of expedience, 
his actions were neither temerarious, nor his 
resolutions unpremeditated. Bold in execution, 
and determined in his designs, he was, notwith¬ 
standing, diligent in his observations, and 


245 

careful in the construction of his plans. He 
was equally a pattern for constant imitation 
in the system of military discipline, and an 
example to be followed in the field of battle. 
Personal attention to order in every de 
partment of the service that came under his 
immediate cognizance, and promptitude in 
every critical position, rendered him an object 
of esteem and admiration to all who had 
an opportunity of witnessing the commanding 
vigour of his intellect, and the unaffected hero¬ 
ism of his conduct. Hence he was revered by 
the private soldiers, and beloved by the officers, 
who had the felicity of serving under him : the 
one regarding him as a father, and the others 
valuing him as their friend and exemplar. 
To a chivalrous intrepidity, which faced death 
without any concern for his own safety, was 
joined a tender sympathy for his companions 
in arms. No man had more feeling for the 
sufferings of others, or could be more anxious 
to save the effusion of human blood, while he 
appeared prodigal in the exposure of his own 
person, and thereby stimulated his followers to 
deeds of daring valour. In preparing to meet 


246 

the foe, or to storm a bulwark, he was calm, 
collected, and sedulous of information ; but ob¬ 
stacles that would have appalled mechanical 
minds, and such as are ever ready to magnify 
perils, or to multiply hazards, as an excuse for 
their own prudence, only served to sharpen his 
desire, and to quicken his exertions. To this 
rare conjunction of extraordinary talents, and 
contempt of death, inflexible firmness in action, 
and persevering energy in pursuing an advan¬ 
tage, was added the purest patriotism, which he 
evinced through every changing scene of his 
eventful life. After enduring for many years 
the contagious atmosphere of Hispaniola, and a 
fatiguing though honourable service in Jamaica, 
instead of enjoying the otiwn cum dignitate to 
which he was entitled, or at least some relax¬ 
ation from his labours and anxieties, in the 
bosom of domestic tranquillity, he was under the 
necessity of employing his powers on the shores 
of Asia. A too generous confidence in the ho¬ 
nour of others involved him in embarrassments, 
to the injury of his private fortune, which im¬ 
pelled him to seek relief in laborious exertions, 
&nd the forgetfulness of wrongs in a variation of 


247 

scene* and the remoteness of distance. But 
there is an overruling destiny, which, without 
imposing any force upon human actions, con¬ 
verts the slightest incidents and the most unplea¬ 
sant casualties into agencies of general benefit. 
Thus the mortifying disappointments experi¬ 
enced by this gallant officer induced him to visit 
India, where, on his arrival, he rescued Vellore 
from abody of ferocious insurgents, thereby saving 
many valuable lives in that fortress; and, what 
was of still greater consequence, extinguished a 
flame, which, but for his promptitude, would 
have consumed the English interests in the Car¬ 
natic. That a service involving so many moment¬ 
ous consequences should have hitherto been 
comparatively little heeded, except among those 
who witnessed the atchievement, and felt its be¬ 
neficial effects in their immediate deliverance, 

maybelamentedhereafter,whentheremembrance 

of former neglect shall throw a damp over the 
ardour of professional zeal. It is neither illiberal 
nor gloomy to suppose, that if ever a struggle 
for the preservation of the British possessions in 
India shall arise, the occurrence at Vellore will 
act otherwise than as a stimulus to the sacrifice 


248 


of personal ease and the display of heroic valour. 
But the advantages rendered to the country at 
that time were not confined to that single 
exploit; for the improvement which took place 
in the state of our army, under the inspection 
and particular regulation of this excellent com¬ 
mander, contributed greatly to the success 
which so speedily and gloriously crowned the 
expedition against Java. The state of defence 
in which that island was placed, and the force 
there employed, plainly shewed the importance 
in which the possession of it was held, and the 
resistance that an invading power had to expect. 
Unless, therefore, the British troops employed 
in this enterprize had been in the highest con¬ 
dition of discipline, it would have been impos¬ 
sible for any plan, however well conceived and 
skilfully arranged, to have succeeded. Besides 
the depressing effects of a long and tedious 
voyage in a burning climate, the nature of the 
service itself, on an extended line of unhealthy 
coast, occupied in great strength by the most 
formidable of enemies, presented obstacles which 
nothing could overcome but habitual order 
and valour in the forces, directed by the con- 


249 

summate skill and intrepidity of our leaders. 
Yet, through their unremitted attentions, the 
whole equipment reached the place of destination 
in a condition fit for immediate operations: and 
such were the particular exertions of the com¬ 
mander who conducted the first division, that no 
loss was sustained during the navigation, nor 
was any delay necessar}' to recruit the health 
of the troops, and to prepare them for action. 
But great as his services were in the course 
of this expedition, and in atchieving the 
conquest, they were surpassed afterwards by 
what he performed in securing the safety of the 
colony, and establishing it on a permanent basis, 
when to all appearance it was on the verge of 
ruin. Less enterprizing genius would have 
acted with a cautious and temporizing policy 
towards the native princes, who were secretly 
plotting to accomplish the destruction of the 
European settlements throughout the island: 
but General Gillespie, aware that the chain 
must be broken before it was compacted into an 
organized state that would have rendered resist¬ 
ance useless, determined to attack the leading 
power without delay. Inadequate as his means 


2 50 


might be considered, he had the fullest reliance 
on the troops he commanded ; and the result 
proved, in the capture of Djoejocarta, with its 
perfidious chief, that, however bold and daring 
his plan might be, it was the only one that 
could have been adopted for the preservation of 
the settlement. It may, therefore, be truly said, 
that the advantages produced by our attainment 
of Java, and the improvements which have 
taken place there in consequence of its passing 
under the British government, were in a con¬ 
siderable degree owing to the comprehensive 
views and energetic proceedings of the military 
commander who was left to participate in the 
administration with the civil authority. The 
latter, however, would have been totally ineffi¬ 
cient to maintain its power, or to carry into 
execution any extensive changes for the general 
benefit of the native states, had they not been pre¬ 
viously reduced to a condition that rendered 
them incapable of disturbing the public peace. 
By the subjugation of the Sultaun of Mataram, 
the field of industry and improvement was 
completely laid open, and effectually secured 
within a barrier that could not be easily weak- 


251 


ened. The effects of that security, which the 
exertions of General Gillespie provided, have 
amply appeared in the statistical reports on the 
prosperous state of the island and its dependen¬ 
cies. But though a very elaborate view has 
been exhibited, and, no doubt, justly, of the 
ameliorated situation of the country, by the 
institutions that a liberal policy has adopted, 
and of the rapid progress which industry and 
civilization have made under our government, 
little, rf any, notice has been taken of the obli¬ 
gation due to the man, who, by his vigorous 
measures and undaunted courage laid the foun¬ 
dation of the great moral change thus wrought 
in the character and circumstances of Java. 

It was peculiarly the hard lot of General 
Gillespie to be called to the execution of very 
perilous enterprizes at the imminent risk of his 
life, and to endure afterwards the mortification of 
seeing his glory acknowledged as a matter of 
course in public, and of having his good designs 
impeded and rendered ineffectual in private. 
Having extended the European power in Java 
and its dependencies to a state of unrivalled 
greatness, it was perfectly natural and just that 


252 

he should have looked for honourable confidence 
and dignified repose, as some compensation 
for the difficulties which he had removed, and 
the benefits which he had secured. Instead of 
this, he found, that without compromising his 
principles, and yielding to measures which he 
disapproved, it was impossible for him to remain 
free from provoking slights, or unannoyed by 
petulant opposition. All this, however, he 
endured much longer than his private feelings 
would have permitted in any case where the 
public service was unconcerned: but such was 
his patriotic spirit and sense of duty, that he 
could not be induced to abandon even a trouble¬ 
some situation, while his presence there was 
considered necessary by the supreme govern¬ 
ment in India. This self-controul originated in 
the same exalted motives which led to his 
subsequent retirement from a command, where 
subservience to the decision of others, and a 
tacit acquiescence in their proceedings, might 
have been turned to profitable account. But 
his ideas were superior to all sordid considera¬ 
tions; and he never could submit to pursue any 
object by unworthy means, or to adopt the 


253 

trucking policy which makes individual emolu¬ 
ment the rule of public conduct. Disin¬ 
terestedness was indeed as resplendent in his 
character as the love of active employment or 
the thirst of glory. No man could, with greater 
propriety, have adopted the declaration which 
our immortal bard has put into the mouth of 
the conqueror of Agincourt: 

In truth I am not covetous of gold, 

Nor care I who doth feed upon my cost. 

It yearns me not if men my garments wear: 

Such outward things dwell not in my desires. 

But if it be a sin to covet Honour, 

I am the most offending soul alive. 

He had no failings or propensities to divert 
his faculties, to dissipate his time, and to impair 
his fortune, beyond what are incidental and 
common to the noblest dispositions: and though 
his heart was susceptible of the softest emotions, 
he never suffered any of the attachments result¬ 
ing from these impressions to interfere with 
his public avocations and professional pursuits. 
He was ever alert in the discharge of his parti¬ 
cular duties, and diligently observant of those 
who served under his orders. The generosity 


254 


of his temper, and the liberality of his sentiments, 
made him indulgent to the errors arising from 
human infirmity, and charitable with respect 
to casual inadvertencies; though at the same 
time he was careful to enforce regularity by 
his directions, and to recommend it by his 
example. In discipline he was uniformly 
strict, but always courteous and paternal, 
requiring nothing to be performed by those 
around him that he was not forward to practise 
in his own person. Merit of every degree, and 
in the lowest stations, had in him a zealous and 
stedfast patron, as far as his ability enabled him 
to give it encouragement; while the sorrows and 
sufferingsof the distressed were certain of exci¬ 
ting his commiseration and obtaining his relief; 
so that, on all accounts, to him might be ap¬ 
plied the endearing and honourable appellation, 
of which he was laudably ambitious, that he 
was “The Soldier’s Friend.” 

His mind was the mirror of integrity; and 
his deportment towards his associates and 
dependents continually exhibited the sincerity 
of his intentions and the purity of his actions. 
The circle of private society never enjoyed a 


255 

ffiore delightful companion, for his conversation 
was cheerful without levity, and his manners 
refined without affectation. To the most exalt¬ 
ed principles of truth and correct notions of 
decorum, he united a condescending familiarity 
of behaviour, and an agreeable pleasantry, which 
rendered his acquaintance desirable; while the 
stability of his temper, and the sacred fidelity of 
his engagements, gave to his friendship a stamp 
of inestimable value. 

Such is the brief outline of a character, who, 
when all reasonable allowance is made for ordi¬ 
nary imperfections, may be termed a luminary of 
the first order in the military sphere, and a bril¬ 
liant ornament of human nature. Feeble and 
rude as this sketch is, it has been delineated 
from a personal observation of much of the 
toil, and from a participation in many of the 
dangers here related. Reflecting that life is 
precarious, and memory frail, the writer has 
ventured with the mixed feelings of pleasing 
recollection and painful emotion, to place this 
votive tablet in the public view, as a humble 
testimony to exalted worth, and the grateful 
record of private friendship. 

It has been justly observed, “ That the life of 


256 

a modern soldier is ill represented by heroic 
fiction and therefore, while in the preceding 
narrative circumstances are stated which some 
may consider as bearing a high chivalric cast 
and complexion, care has been taken to avoid 
amplification in the story and elevation in the 
diction. Simplicity of style has been scrupu¬ 
lously regarded as best suited to the verity of 
the facts and the merits of the subject, the one 
standing in no need of ornamental embellishment 
to give them effect, nor the other ofeulogium to 
render it interesting. In consigning to history 
the task of registering the deeds of this excellent 
man, they who knew him most intimately will 
cherish the remembrance of his virtues, with 
tender affection and regret, that the enjoyment 
has passed to return no more; at the same time 
deriving relief under this depression, from the 
consideration that their friend died as he had uni¬ 
formly lived, in the path of honour, and crowned 
with that glory which will preserve his memory 
among the “ Men of renown who have left a name 
behind them that their praises might be reported / 5 

THE END. 

B. CJarke, Printer, Well Street, London. 

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